Coffee Talk: Health, Writing, and Life Lately

Good morning! I'm sitting here with a cup of coffee, pondering over my life as it's been this year and I have a lot to share so far. While I've been enjoying a proper cuppa of tea here and there, nothing beats a steaming cup of joe. Mine is flavored with a splash of coconut milk and some sugar, and with it, I am ready to talk.

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I'm 96.69 miles into my 100-mile goal for this month, and I still have a few days yet before the month is over. I'm more than confident that I will surpass my goal before the end of Friday - which happens to be the last of the month. As most of you know, I reached another huge milestone recently when I lost a total of 100 lbs! Since that's happened, I hit a plateau. This is normal and to be expected, but I hate it all the same. I'm holding steady right now, but I'm really hoping to move past that within the next few weeks before I start feeling those discouragement demons. I remind myself of how far I've come, however, whenever I start feeling down. 

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I've been working on Vanished, but, let me tell you, it's been a challenge. Between working on several things at once and having a life, I haven't had the time that I used to, to devote to working on my passion. I recently came to the conclusion that I didn't like the direction in which the book was headed, so I've changed it. I'm liking the direction of it now, and I'm pretty excited about it. That's a great feeling. I've been, for the first time in forever, doing some great research and coming up with great ideas. I finally feel like I'm evolving (again) as a writer and that makes me feel good, even if a bit anxious.

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Life has been a challenge this year, in many ways, as well. Besides a regular, full-time job, I had devoted myself to a couple of organizations, that between the two of them, amounted to a largely unpaid part-time position. The position not only paid next to nothing but what started out as a hopeful, exciting thing turned into a stressful look over the edge. When things move in that direction, it's time to cut your losses and move on. There's nothing wrong with knowing when it's time to walk away from something and I had reached that point. So, I resigned from one organization and will resign from the other soon. 

One thing I've realized as I've gotten older is that I will not feel responsible for something that doesn't belong to me. If I don't own it, whether it's another thing, another person, or someone else's decisions, then I am not responsible for its shortcomings. It's that simple. For this reason, then, I feel no guilt for deciding to leave and I shouldn't. I did the best that I could and that's all anyone, including myself, can expect of me. 

Over this long period of time that I had devoted to these organizations, I had lost my way. I didn't have the time to write anymore, I didn't have time for my friends or family anymore, and I didn't have time to pursue my interests. I missed my life and I'm looking forward to reclaiming it. I've always wanted to live a carefree life of adventure and be an author, something I'm going to refocus all my energy on.

Besides all that, I've been dealing with a lot of emotions surrounding The Teen moving off to college. I cried when we left him at his dorm and part of the hour-long drive home. He called later that evening and we talked for half an hour, after which I cried for a solid 20 minutes. I cried most of that Monday as well. I knew it would be hard, but I had no idea it would be THAT hard. He came home this past weekend and it's getting better. I didn't cry when he left this time, and I feel pretty confident that he's going to be just fine. I guess it's just hard to let go of your kids when they start to be adults. Pretty soon, or so I've been told, I will be happy that he's on his own and can start looking forward to having a different kind of life. I'm sure I will be, it just doesn't feel the warmest and fuzziest right now.

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Well, that's it for Coffee Talk today. Like usual, I will be back on Saturday with a new post. My newsletter will be coming out soon as well, so you better sign up for it if you haven't already! You'll find the signup link in the upper left-hand corner of this website. For some, you'll see it immediately, for others, you will need to click on the three lines. Have a great week my friends!

Always, H.A.