The Birthday Update
So, I have about 18 days until my birthday, which means it’s time to do the annual round-up again. How are things overall? I know you’re tired of hearing it, but they’re pretty amazing.
-We have a garden! I am so excited. Every day I get to watch our hard work grow into something that is flavorful and healthy. I’m putting food up to feed us through the winter, even if it’s just supplementary. Basil is turning into freezer pesto, cucumbers into pickles, mint into tea, peppers into spice powders. It’s incredibly fulfilling.
-I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been:
Not an awesome pic, but you get the idea. Those little bumps on the side of my stomach? Yeah, those are muscles courtesy of kickboxing. (Capoeira and lots and lots of side kicks!) You can’t see my tummy line–that awesome one that runs down the middle–in this photo because of the lighting, but it’s there. I am really proud of myself for staying in shape, and for finding activities I love to help me do it.
I feel really good about myself, I love the way I feel, and the things my body can do. I’m still teaching spin, MMA street fighting/kickboxing, and a variety of other weight and cardio classes (including a Sparticus workout class that’s kicking my butt) in addition to my full-time Personal Chef business. Which means my schedule is incredibly full, but also very fulfilling. I get to watch people build themselves, encourage them, be part of their process. With kickboxing especially, it’s amazing to watch people who are otherwise fairly timid really come out and find their inner warrior, so to speak. It’s a fairly intense, aggressive class, and I’ve been surprised at the people who’ve taken to it!
-I’ve taken up fishing again. This was a bit odd for me for a variety of reasons, but I haven’t lost much in the way of my technique (though I’ve lost several lures to the amazing amount of snags in the lake nearby–I really need some weedless lures!). And, it turns out I haven’t lost my love for it, either. I’ve been fishing literally my entire life on-and-off, and missed it when I wasn’t. The bitter memories are gone now, it seems, and the joy of the quiet, the cast, the game of it, is still there.
-I’m still volunteering, which I love. I’m teaching a community cooking and nutrition class, and speaking to local groups about health and wellness. It’s great!
-I want to do more camping. I just never seem to have the time to get away for a weekend, and thus far I also haven’t found a way to deal with the damn gnats. Ugh, they’re insane. But, that I do miss a lot. With Thadd’s schedule and mine, it just doesn’t work; and, while I’d camp in the Shenandoah on my own, I won’t camp alone in the mountains near here.
-We’re making wonderful friends here. It took a while because this is such a clique-ish town, but we’ve found people we really like a lot.
-Still into the local food movement. Over the last few years, that’s expanded to include local wines, which VA has in abundance. Some of them are truly spectacular.
-Still a Secular Humanist.
-Still no kids, and no plans to have any. I am perfectly happy loving my nieces, nephews, and friend’s children.
-My cats are doing well, and at the moment I am thoroughly catted.
-Still cooking, and the Personal Chef business is going great!
-My grandparents are aging. So far, they’re doing alright, but I know the time when they’ll need more care is coming faster than any of us would like. Two of my nephews are grown men in their own right, the other’s not far behind, and two of my three nieces are gorgeous women that really should carry cattle prods. I am proud of all of them–I can’t believe I’ve gotten to watch them grow up. It just doesn’t seem like that many years have passed.
-Thadd and I are still happy, still in love, still together. School’s going well, and he’s got an internship at a State Lab this summer. I don’t let him talk about it much because..well, ew. Pathogens and insects in poop just aren’t my thing. But, he’s loving it.
And, that’s it. Well, not really. There’s way more to life, but this is the gist. There some bad, like college tuition really killing the budget, but overall life is far more positive than negative. It’s a good life, and that’s the best birthday gift I can ask for.
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