Just Try!

Here I am on the last day of my 366 Somedays and what have I learned?

I have learned not all “Somedays” are meant to be.  Once attention was finally given to some, they just didn’t fulfill the expectations.  The activity was not as fun as anticipated or the amount of work to accomplish the “Someday” was beyond what I was willing to expend.  Speaking Italian fell into this category.  I’ll still dream of living in Italy and conversing fluently with my neighbors, but the reality is I’ll never live in Italy and I’ll never speak Italian – fluently or otherwise.

I have learned goals can be achieved with steady and persistent effort.  My “Someday” to complete the physical challenge of walking or running 1200 miles in a year required me to focus on getting in miles almost daily.  There were times I would have preferred to sit out a workout due to rain, snow, heat, or just plain laziness, but I didn’t – I kept at it for twelve months and I achieved my goal.

I have learned that tackling some “Somedays” leads to the accomplishment of other “mini-Somedays”.  This month, as I’ve been working on restoring my carousel horse (no pictures yet – it isn’t done), I’ve also been painting (with the same paint) a decorative mirror which I’d planned on putting in a specific spot in our home, but which has been sitting in a garage closet for the last two years waiting to be painted and antiqued.

I have learned most “Somedays” cannot be completed within a month.  My very first “Someday” of writing a book in a month was way too ambitious!  The book still isn’t done and the reality is, that may not be the book I end up finishing.  I’ll still write and, eventually, a book will be completed, but it would be disheartening to chastise myself for not finishing in one month.  This has been the hardest lesson to accept.  So many of my “Somedays” aren’t finished and, at first, that bothered me, but all of the “Somedays” I tackled are started and that, in my opinion, is a win.

I have learned some “Somedays” resonate more than others and that is joyous.  Yoga, a “Someday” not chosen, but which I probably would not have attempted if I weren’t going through this journey, has quickly become part of my daily routine and I wonder why I didn’t open myself to it years ago.  Knitting also brings me joy and, while I don’t sit for hours and knit, when I do pick up my needles, I feel a calm wash over me.

So, with successes (1200 mile challenge), failures (speaking Italian), postponements (gardening – the space is finally ready and I’ll try planting this spring), and continuations (writing a book, restoring my carousel horse), perhaps the biggest lesson of this year has been that it’s okay to fail, to not enjoy, to set aside, but it isn’t okay to not even try.

Yoga: The “Someday” Not Taken

Way back toward the beginning of this 366 Somedays journey, I had to make a choice between two “Somedays”:  yoga and meditation.  I felt the two were too closely related to do both as valid “Somedays” on their own.  I ended up choosing meditation because I know my mind pings out of control too frequently.  I have not continued a daily meditation practice, though I have used what I learned so I’m able to sit meditatively for five to ten minutes in the morning on days when I feel overwhelmed.

Yoga was still sitting out there as a “Someday”.  As it’s hovered there in my desires, I’ve found myself increasingly stiff.  This stiffness began a few years ago and it has just continued to get worse.  I felt I needed to stretch more, do more strength training.  My body was feeling old and I was grasping at straws without really making the effort to grab them.

Then, earlier this month, a friend’s blog on quilting popped up in my email inbox as having a new post.  I clicked on it and read what I think will be a life-changing account of her decision to commit to 31 days of yoga and to pursue becoming a yogi (one who regularly practices yoga).  My friend is using Yoga with Adriene’s online (free) YouTube videos for her 31-day commitment.  I checked it out and immediately signed up, sequestered myself from the rest of my family, and did the first session.  I’d like to have some witty words for how I felt, but all I can come up with is, “Wow!”

I’m two weeks into the program and I feel great!  I am light years away from being able to do the poses and transitions like Adriene does, but I’m moving along and I can tell I’m making little steps of progress and, best of all, I am not feeling nearly as stiff as I was just two weeks ago.  I’m not taking my yoga practice out in public.  The sanctity of my private space is perfect for my humble attempts at graceful movement, but I will continue this practice.  Am I sorry I didn’t make yoga an official “Someday”?  Not at all.  If I weren’t taking this journey and allowing myself to be open to new activities, I’m not sure I would have so readily jumped on the bandwagon when my friend wrote about it.  It seems silly to pose this as a “mini-Someday” because it’s definitely not “mini”, but I’ll take it as a “mini” or a “monthly”.  I’m excited where this will take me and that really is the purpose of this journey.

Mini-“Somedays”

Throughout this journey of “Somedays”, I’ve tried to use the purposefulness of the process to help me stay productive in other areas.  I’ve tried to accomplish mini-“Somedays” along the way.  I’ve written about some of them, but others, like organizing the kitchen cupboards, drawers, and pantry were just little (or sometimes big) accomplishments that I feel good about.  Yesterday, I completed two mini-“Somedays”:  two little plaques I’ve been wanting to make for our home.

I’ve had the intention of putting these together for months; however, putting aside the time to do them just never seemed a priority.  Once I had them done and mounted on the walls, I wondered why it had taken me so long to get them done.  It took less than two hours to make them and that included searching for the antique white frame I knew I had somewhere.  Just two hours!  How many hours do I squander on inane activities?  Why do I not harness those hours and make them productive?  The thought was eye opening.

And now, with eyes open, I’m going to look around to see what other mini-“Somedays” are waiting to be done.   I had such a sense of accomplishment yesterday!  It was a level beyond the effort I put in, but that’s okay.  I like the feeling and I’m willing to accept it even for small projects.  Bring on the To-Do list!

Someday Stretch

In addition to the big monthly “somedays” I’d hoped I would also tackle some smaller “somedays” along this journey.  I’ve realized I have taken on a smaller “someday” without really realizing it – I have restarted a regular stretching routine.

I used to stretch daily after my morning workout, but with our move last year and the need to get into a new routine, I simply stopped stretching regularly and, boy, does my 57-year-old body feel it!  My workouts have become primarily walking and running outside instead of inside on a treadmill.  When I arrive home from my exercise time, there are dogs to unleash, shoes and coats to shed, and the thought of heading somewhere to stretch just doesn’t cross my mind.  I kept trying to figure out how to get stretching back into my daily routine and then it happened gradually without really planning right after my morning meditation session.  At first I stretched my arms into the air after my 10-minute gong went off, then I added a child’s pose.  Within days I was doing a pretty decent stretching routine and my body feels better.

Yesterday in the paper (yes, I still read a daily newspaper of the paper variety) I noticed an ad for someone who provides instruction on resistance stretching.  I bought a book on resistance stretching, but wasn’t able to do much on my own.  Was this a new ad or did I see the ad yesterday because the idea of stretching is fresh on my mind?  I don’t know, but I will stretch my comfort level this week and call the instructor to see about making an appointment.  My year of “somedays” means not putting stuff like this off.  Maybe that is settling in as a new reality.