Sandy's Thoughts

Have you set your goals and priorities for 2009???  Did you break them down into manageable monthly increments of mini goals? Remember, don’t bit off more than you can chew.  I have always been the one who seems to gravitate toward projects that are anything but small.  As a young women,  whenever I was overwhelmed and was unsure of my ability to accomplish something that I had willingly accepted to do and which afterwards at face value looked insurmountable, I can remember my grandfather saying, “How do you eat an elephant?”  And to this day, when faced with a goal, project, etc. that seems way too much for met to handle or that leaves me not knowing where to begin, his answer still echos in my mind.  “One bite at a time.”

I’m cheering for you!!

From about the ripe old age of nine, I can remember always saying, “I wish I was older or I wish it was some date in the future (sixteen to date and drive a car, eighteen to be able to drink (it was eighteen way back then) and vote, twenty-two to be done with college, etc.)”.  My mother would always retort, “Don’t wish your life away. It will go by fast enough.”  Well, my mother was right.  Aren’t they always?

Here we are moving into yet another year…..2009!!!  Remember……it seems like just yesterday, we were facing the new millennium with fears of cosmic meltdowns.  Well that never transpired. Yet, nine more years did in the blink of an eye.  I turned fifty last year and thought this was monumental and at the very least worthy of a huge bash loaded with cosmopolitans and an endless night (especially after all the cosmos) of “Oh, my God, where did it go and how did I get here……………SO FAST!!!!”

Well my Abagals, I’m now facing a new year and yet another birthday this month, feeling as the song says “good”.”  I am very confident and excited about 2009.  We are embarking on many “first time evers.”  I believe we will not just see change, but a whole new beginning.  I firmly believe that our societal horizon is about to take on a whole new look.  I am also adamant in the belief that women will be responsible for a majority of this fresh and powerful landscape.  Many factors have been put into place; social and economic, that will allow women, especially women 40+, to move forward and really become “what they want to be when they grow up”; truly inventing the second half of their lives.  Dramatic change, as we have been  witnessing, elicits fear.  Fear is a natural response to change and unfamiliarity in our lives and the world around us; some real, some imagined.  However, it is how we manage this fear that will determine who we are and what we will be at the end of the day.  We can either be blinded and paralyzed or we can rise to the challenge and be motivated by it.  Let’s all opt for the latter.

I encourage all of you, my Abagals, to decide who and what you really want to be and do with the second half of your lives and then “go for it!”  We will be here to embrace and support you every step of the way.  Happy New Year!