A healthy change of attitude

I've been trying to decide whether to do the #Healthy65 Challenge coordinated by a co-worker this year. And the answer, finally, is yes. It starts Monday. 

My #Healthy65 Challenge: attitude of gratitude. 

Here are some of  my starting thoughts:

I'm pretty good physically. I've continued to adhere to last year's #Healthy65 Challenge to reduce my gum consumption significantly (which saved me a very conservative minimum of $365 for the year).

 

I couldn't think of a physical challenge worth taking on this year.

 

But I think this challenge regarding my attitude will have positive results extending well beyond my bodily health.

 

Quit complaining. In all things, be thankful. 

 

I've been convicted by so many people sharing daily thanks in November. I had hoped to. I have not.

 

And I realize that often when I do give thanks and express gratitude, it comes after working through a complaint or problem.

 

For 65 days, or at least a day or two a week for 65 days, I want to abstain from complaining.

 

Instead of complain, I will strive to say (or at least think): what can I do?  how can I help?

 

(I may have a lot to get out of my system before that starts!!)

Just because

I can't resist posting this, but I also hate to. Everyone makes mistakes. But four times????? (OK, it may have just been three, but I'll err on the grand side.) I almost delivered it to the right house myself the second time it came, but instead just put it back in the mail slot. (An embarrassing aside is that the first time it came, I opened it, not realizing it wasn't addressed to me! It's a thank-you, apparently from possibly a college student to his grandmother. That was actually heartwarming. I want Meme to get her card!!!)

Update: On Thursday, this showed up one more time. I guess what friends said on Facebook is true; it will keep coming back unless I black out the code on the bottom. So I've done that now. Maybe it will get there. I hope so. 

More right choices, one at a time.

Surprisingly and thankfully, November started with a week of right (or at least much better than usual) choices. 

Prayer. 

Answered prayer. 

Gratitude. 

Sunday: quick Texas trip. 

Monday: praying in faith about work and time with Gene. 

Tuesday: more faith and action; making the most of Gene's trip to my office for a meeting that wasn't. 

Wednesday: gratitude as things worked out despite my lack of planning. 

Thursday: selfie fun and more. 

Friday: work so much better than I could ever have dreamed, for the week and Friday. 

Saturday: stepping out for something new. 

One small, right choice

I really want to close out October with one more post. But what would I say? God is at work. 

The part of me that wants to be a writer just won't die. I guess it's why I keep trying to chronicle events on Facebook and here. Most recently was Becky's birthday and the fourth anniversary of Daddy's death. May we never forget our loved ones. 

I often fall short, but one thing I did intentionally this year, for which I am grateful, was to keep the public focus Oct. 30 on Becky's birthday and to wait until the next day to focus on Daddy, an anniversary that also occurred Oct. 30. It was a small, right choice. I strive to make more of those as I go forward. 

What's next?

The only shows I follow on TV are "Nashville" and "my" sports teams, basically the Aggies, Rangers, Mavericks, Cowboys and sometimes the Thunder. And it's looking like even that is too much for me. I'm pretty sure my life would be better if I just left the TV off. So why is it so hard to do??

Still searching

Now it's Oct. 27, and I still can't find the spirit for a good blog post. Changes are going on in my life, and I guess taking the time to flesh out thoughts for the blog is not a priority. I miss doing it but can't justify taking the time. I wish blogging came easily, but part of the change is that I'm trying to be more honest and realistic in my approach to life. And the truth is that writing has never been easy for me. It is a passion and a desire, but it is not easy. It comes down to the same thing that is most difficult about life in general for me: deciding or knowing what I want .... to do, to be, to say, to have. I'm still searching for those answers. 

Random thoughts that ended up being sports-centered

Random thoughts as I notice it's Oct. 11 and I haven't posted anything at all in October!!:

I wanted to blog a response to the pre-Red River Rivalry game focus in The Oklahoman about why Oklahomans hate Texas. Mine would be thoughts from someone who has lived in Oklahoma 33 years and still considers herself a Texan living in Oklahoma, rather than an Oklahoman. A year or so ago, this momentarily became an issue at the place I have worked for 33 years -- a newspaper that had adopted a new catchphrase: because "We are Oklahomans" (or something like that). 

I didn't get around to composing my post. And even though I am not a fan of the lowly Texas university team that got bashed all week in print and on air, I took some pleasure that the Longhorns somehow eked out a beatdown of the Sooners. It may be because my teams tend to be the underdog, so I have a soft spot for others in such situations. 

Unfortunately, that could backfire on me this week as the college team I DO care about -- the Texas Aggies -- put their undefeated season on the line against once-defeated but always good Alabama. But the difference is, as much as I want my team to win each game, I am so accustomed to being the underdog that it doesn't surprise me when they don't. I'm a fan anyway. 

You might say I avoid disappointment by not setting my expectations too high.  That's what it was like when the Aggie women's basketball team and the NBA's Dallas Mavericks won national championships, and when the Texas Rangers came oh-so close two years in a row in the MLB. A variation may have been at play when the OSU Cowboys and the Kansas Jayhawks came closer than anyone would have ever expected. The Jayhawks took advantage of some breaks in scheduling and another team's misfortunes; I always felt the Cowboys were victims of a random occurrence.

This year, similar things could possibly happen with the Rangers and the Aggies. Dare I even write down the scenarios that have come into my mind? Because the thing is, nothing matters except how you play each game. (Aggies could win out and not be in championship playoff because the SEC isn't as strong this year. The Rangers in their first World Series, as I recall, had a disadvantage from the American League's All Star game loss; and in the second visit, they were playing a wild card team that would have been less likely to have even advanced with the rules now in place.)

I'm not sure where I intended to be going with all of this. Mainly I just noticed it's Oct. 11 and I have yet to post anything for October. So here goes something. And maybe I will be back to edit and fill in lots of gaps soon!!