Category Archives: 2023

Jan 29

Take Your Eyes Off the Problem

Challenger Anniversary

This past week was the 37th anniversary of the Challenger explosion.  I was a child when the explosion happened, but I still remember it well.  The photo I’ve shared was taken at the Air Zoo Museum down near Portage MI.  My parents, Ben and I all went on a trip there a few years ago, and I found myself drawn to their exhibit.  As a young child, astronaut had been near the top of my career choices.  I admired Christa McAuliffe because she was a teacher and an astronaut, two of my top career choices.  I remember feeling great sadness the day she died, even though I’d never actually met her. 

Time is such a funny thing.  In some ways, it still feels like the Challenger explosion happened yesterday, and in other ways, it feels like it happened a lifetime ago.  So many big events in life seem to be that way. 

Exercise and a Little Sunshine

With winter in full swing, it’s been difficult to get outside to exercise in the way I like to.  I’ve been finding our basset hound puppy is great exercise, especially because she loves to play tug-of-war and will play with me as I walk.  We have so much fun, and it’s been a great way to get energy out for both of us, me walking the house with her pulling on a toy as I walk.  It’s also a really great way to strengthen my muscles.  She weighs over 50 lbs and is a very strong dog.

It’s been nice to see a little sunshine too.  The clouds have been hanging on, with very little sun this winter.  We’ve had a few days where the sun peeked out for a short time.  It’s bitter cold outside, but beautiful at the same time. 

Take Your Eyes Off The Problem

This week, one of our dogs got the tie-out she was on wrapped around a tree.  Our yard is not fenced in, so we either walk the dogs on a leash or let them out on a tie-out if they want out.  Our basset hound puppy is learning how not to get tangeled around trees outside, but this week, she found herself wrapped around one with the tie-out.

Around and around she went, trying to make the problem better, but it just made it worse.  I tried to help her, but she still kept going the wrong way as she tried to solve the problem herself.  Finally, I went inside and brought out a treat.  It took her eyes off the problem for a moment.  Carefully, I led her round and round the tree, keeping her eyes on the treat as we slowly got her untangled.  Once she was free, she ran excitedly back to the house. 

After I thought about this situation later, I realized the problem was solved when she took her eyes off it.  It reminded me of our own lives.  Too often, I focus on a problem.  I want to get unstuck from something, so I go round and round until I find myself tangled up even worse than I was to begin with.  It’s only when I take my eyes off my problems and focus on where God is leading me that I can get unstuck. 

People have often told me they don’t understand how I’ve handled things as well as I have with everything going on.  It’s not that I don’t have bad days, I do.  It’s that I keep coming back to the One who can truly handle my problems, the One who has the solution.  So even on the really tough days, when I’m hurting, or frustrated and just don’t know what to do next, I can lean on the fact that my Father in Heaven knows exactly what to do, even if I can’t see it.  It’s trusting in that that is hard.  Sometimes it feels like it’s easier to just keep trying on my own, keep going around and around and maybe one of these times I’ll get it right and things will go like they should.  But they don’t.  It’s not until I take my eyes off the problems and focus on the One who can truly guide me in the right direction that things begin to turn around.  It’s easier said than done.  On the really bad days, it’s hard to remember that there’s a God in charge of the situation no matter what I’m facing.  But when I take my eyes off the problem, I truly am set free. 

Jan 15

Catalyst

The Sun Will Shine Again

We’ve had a beautiful week here in North-west lower Michigan, finally getting some sunshine. Michigan isn’t known for its sunny days, especially in winter and this winter has been very cloudy. I’ve seen some reports saying we haven’t had a full day of sun since November, and it’s been weeks since we’ve really seen the sun at all. This week, the sun came out for several days. We enjoyed walks outside, and a beautiful stary night in January.

It felt strange to be able to walk around outside in January. We often have several feet of snow this time of year, so having bare ground and not needing snowshoes to get around feels odd. It was really nice to be able to spend so much time outside this week though, without worrying about a lot of snow gear, or getting worn out quickly in the deep snow. I don’t know what lies ahead. We will likely get a lot more snow and cold temperatures in the days ahead, and probably a lot of cloudy days too. But eventually, the sun will shine again. There is beauty even in cloudy days, and they will not last forever. The sunshine this week was just what we needed to start off the New Year! A photo dump from this week:

Catalyst:

We originally started this blog back in 2012, transferring from another site to WordPress from another blog I’d started to share our adventures in north-west lower Michigan. For a couple of years, I posted occasionally, and then posts became even rarer as I started working on my first Master’s degree. For a brief time, I started posting again but it wasn’t much at all.

Then, in December of 2020, the accident happened. If you are just now starting to follow this blog, you can read about that here: A Christmas To Remember. It changed everything.

A catalyst is defined as “an agent that provokes or speeds significant change or action (Merriam-Webster.com., 2023).

The accident was a catalyst to so many things in our lives, including writing more on this blog. At first, it started as a way for us to update people all at once. Then, slowly, it has started becoming what it was originally meant to be to begin with; a way to share our lives with others and keep track of life. A journal in a sense.

For years, Ben and I had discussed the possibility of me working remotely from home, especially as his health deteriorated. After the accident, that became more of a necessity and a possibility than it ever had before. With Grad school between 2013 and 2020, with only a year break between 2 Masters degrees, there were so many things I stopped doing and had to give up because Grad school and working full time came first.

When the accident happened, I was still trying to figure out how to get so many of those things back, like my writing time, birdwatching, playing piano and guitar, crafting, gardening, and doing so many of the other things I like to do. The accident forced us to rethink things. I’ve always been away of just how short life is, but the accident made me even more aware of it, and left me wanting to do so much more before my time on this earth is done. I was already writing a fair amount, but I wanted to write even more. I was barely going out birdwatching, taking photos, or doing crafts because we just never made the time for it.

The accident, in so many ways, became the catalyst to getting my life back. Not only in the physical sense, but getting back to what truly matters. Slowing down. Taking time to sit out in the sun and read a book, hike through a forest in the middle of winter, and jam a tune on the piano. Taking the time to put together a craft, or play with the dog, blog, or try new things I’ve been wanting to learn. It isn’t that I wasn’t doing those things at all before the accident, but I wasn’t doing them much. The accident made both my husband Ben and I aware of what we were actually taking for granted without even realizing it, and what we needed to change to get to where we wanted to be.

So, we started making those changes. I now work from home. I’m blogging this year more than I have in a long time, and I’m writing pretty close to daily. I’m reading books faster than I have in years and taking the time to enjoy the sunshine on my face, and the cold air in my lungs. Life is too short not to.

When temperatures and system pressure change, they become a catalyst to the weather. Clouds move in or get pushed out, either covering the sun, or making room for it to reappear. Just like the weather, pressure and changes in our own lives, whether negative or positive, lead to change. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. But eventually, long enough into the seasons, the sun makes it way out from behind the clouds again. Difficult days don’t last forever. And sometimes, they become the catalyst that leads us towards days better than anything we could ever imagine.

Until next time,

Cindy

Citations:

“Catalyst.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catalyst. Accessed 15 Jan. 2023.

Jan 8

What is to Come

As we enter this new season in our lives, where life has slowly returned to “normal,” and yet will never be “normal” again, we begin to find a “new normal.” We are slowly building new routines and finding ways to enjoy the little moments in life, even as different as things are now.

Physical and Occupational Therapy

I’m still trying to do some physical and occupational therapy exercises. In many ways, this is now combined with what would have just been exercise before, but I still struggle with balance some and weakness on my left side. This may always be the case. I can do most of the things I used to do before the accident, I just have to be careful I don’t fall. I also have a hard time still getting up and down off a floor and cannot turn my wrist all the way over, but I’m learning to function as it is. In future posts, I will still update on PT and OT occasionally, but since there is not a lot new each week to update, I will not talk about it every time.

Update on Ben

If you follow us on Social Media, some people questioned one of the photos I shared as a year-end wrap-up, as Facebook doesn’t always show posts exactly as they are shared. The photo was this one, taken just before Ben went in for Cataract surgery in July, and I think some people thought Ben was in the hospital currently. He is not, as this was just a day surgery, but his peripheral neuropathy continues to progress.

If you’ve followed my previous posts, you’ll know that Ben has peripheral neuropathy, with no known cause. He likely has a rare autoimmune disorder, but after many different tests for what it could be, there has been no clear direction or definite results. Ben met with the University of Michigan hospital this week. We found out his previous doctor has passed away and he has a new doctor. The latest doctor is recommending Ben not get a nerve biopsy at this time, as the risks outweigh the benefits right now, and it would likely not give us any results. He is placing Ben on a new medication to try out. Winters are rough for both of us, with increased pain levels.

A Michigan Big Year

One of my goals for this coming year is to do a Michigan Big Year. I hope to see as many birds as I can in the state of Michigan during 2023, with a minimum goal of 10 birds per month, 120 birds total. You can follow those adventures on the Northern Michigan Birding blog. https://northernmichiganbirding.wordpress.com/

Happy Birthday!

This week, we celebrated our basset hound turning a year old. It’s hard to believe she’s already a year old! She’s grown so much and added so much joy and laughter into our lives.

A Hint of What is to Come?

Living in north-west lower Michigan, we seldom see the sunshine in the winter time. Sometimes winter can feel like it drags on forever, with the first snow often falling by October and the last snow sticking around until June many years. But like so many things in life, winter will not last forever. Today, even with the super cloudy skies we’ve had, we saw a hint of blue skies, and hopefully a hint of what is yet to come. We will see the sun again. Just as in life, when seasons are tough and dark, they won’t last forever. One day, perhaps not even all that far away, the sun will peak through the clouds and slowly make its way back around. The earth will warm again, things will begin to grow and change. But for now, everything rests. It prepares itself for what is yet to come, even if what is yet to come seems better than what is now. Winter is not forever, but it is a time to rest and prepare for what may lie ahead.

We may face many trials and difficult times, but it is not the end. It is only a season. This is our winter, our season to rest and prepare for what comes next. As we find ourselves slowly moving out of that season, we look with anticipation and longing for what is yet to come. Winter will not keep its hold forever. One day, we will see sunshine and feel its warmth again. And until that day, we keep on waiting and preparing for whatever that will be.

Dec 31

New Years Projects 2023

Every year, I set goals for myself. I used to do this on social media, but in recent years, the settings have changed, so I’ve switched to a blog format over the past couple of years. You can find my goals from 2020 going into 2021 here: 2020 Goals, and my goals from 2021, going into 2022 here: 2021 Goals.

Why do I set goals? Because I believe setting goals helps us to make a plan and follow it to get to where we want to be. Do I always stick with the plan 100%? No. Life gets in the way, and things happen, but I strive to make progress on my goals throughout the year as much as possible. Sometimes I’m more successful at it than other times. I often set my goals around projects. Projects are anything that takes time and energy, and in order to complete those projects in a timely manner, I need a plan. Setting goals around those projects help me to make a plan to get things done.

My goals for 2022 were as follows, along with how I did on each goal.

  1. By December 31, 2022, I will write a book, edit it, send it to beta readers, and seek out getting it published. In many ways, this goal was too much for one year with everything else going on. I did manage to write quite a bit, (over 100,000 words) and did some editing too. A couple of years ago, 100,000 wouldn’t have felt like much, but since the accident, it’s more than I could have done a year ago, so I’ll take it.
  2. By December 31, 2022, I will make time to enjoy a variety of my hobbies each week, including in music, reading, photography, birdwatching, arts and crafts, and writing.  I continue to work on this. Next year, one of my goals is going to be around building habits in addition to a hobbies goal. I enjoyed more hobbies than I have in a long time, setup my piano once again with my music books, read more fiction books than I’ve read in years, took a lot of photos, and managed to get a little bit of arts and crafts in. I did a little bit of birdwatching, but not a lot.
  3. By December 31, 2022, I will gain strength and become more physically fit. I did well on this goal until winter hit. For most of 2022, I was outside several days a week hiking, playing tennis, frisbee golf, or heading inside to the gym. Once winter hit, it has been harder to get out. I’m sort of keeping this goal for next year but working into habits instead of a separate goal.
  4. By December 31, 2022, I will complete tasks around the house following weekly, monthly, and yearly checklists. We got a lot of tasks done around this house this year! There is still more I want to do, but we moved my hobby room and converted it into an office, started a new space for the hobby room, then decided to change that up as well. So next year, that will be one of our goals.
  5. By December 31, 2022, I will create and carry out goals related to work, including teaching, blogging and photography. This was the toughest goal to write, but perhaps one of the easiest to carry out because it was so broad. I’ve blogged sporadically throughout the year but want to get more consistent at it. I started a new teaching job, teaching online and explored some new projects. I’m sure I’ll go into more detail as time goes on, but for now, I’m not talking a lot about those projects since they are just getting started.

Goals for next year (2023):

One thing I learned during 2022 by tracking my goals so closely is that I really can only do about 3-4 goals per month. As such, I will have five goals this coming year, but every month, one of those goals will not be focused on. I even made out a list for myself of what to focus on when! 😉 I’ve added a sample below, for anyone interested in trying something similar. My personal one is colored coded, but the one below is much simpler. There is one goal, building routines, that I will work on all year because it is important to keep the momentum when you are trying to build new habits.

Project 1Project 2Project 3Project 4Project 5
Januaryx
Februaryx
Marchx
Aprilx
Mayx
Junex
Julyx
Augustx
Septemberx
Octoberx
Novemberx
Decemberx

My goals for 2023:

1.Writing.

  • Isn’t this a goal every year? 😄 By December 31, 2023, I will have organized my series more and finished up some of the books in it. I am finding that having a book ready to send out to publishing is difficult when you are writing a series that constantly changes the first book. This year, I tried to make myself just write the first book and get it out, but I quickly discovered it was a really fast way to dislike and dread my own writing. I backtracked, wrote about half of one of the later books in the series, and about 1/4 of another one. It’s a rather large series, and I’ve been looking at some ideas to help me write the first part of the series without trying to force it.

2. Birdwatch

  • By December 31,2023, I will have spotted and photographed at least 120 different birds (average of 10 new birds per month) and completed my own Michigan Big Year. I love birdwatching. One of my goals for this coming year is to spot and photograph as many different species of birds as I can.

3. Habits:

  • By December 31,2023, I will build routines around the areas of music (piano/guitar), hobbies, chores and fitness. I did this last year with reading and have read more fiction books than I have in a long time. I read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear last year and found it to be very informative and helpful. I want to learn to play more piano and guitar, build in my hobbies as part of my regular routine, create a better routine for household chores, and build habits to help me maintain fitness goals year-round. Some of these will likely be goals that carry over into next year, but I want to start building the routines for them now. I will start with building one routine, and then slowly add more in.

4.Blog Regularly:

  • By December 31,2023, I will blog regularly, based on a schedule I create. I’ve always enjoyed blogging, but do not keep it up as much as I would like to. I am setting a goal for myself to create a schedule for blogging, and stick with the schedule as much as I possibly can.

5. Learning

By December 31, 2023, I learn new skills, such as HTML programming, natural dyes, herb growing, and other skills that come up throughout the year. As a life-long learner, I enjoy learning new things but struggle to set aside the time to focus on continuing to build my skills. By making learning a priority this year, I am setting aside time to build the skills I want to and to use those skills in my hobbies and every day life.

6. Other:

  • Career Goals. This is part of the reason I’m limiting myself to 3-4 projects a month. The 3-4 projects are from the personal goals listed above, but this still leaves time for Career Goals. Part of the reason I wasn’t reaching the 5 project a month goals is because I wasn’t really tracking much for career goals, at least not in the same way I track personal goals. So I was doing a lot in my career, which takes time and energy, but not counting it with the projects I completed. This made is seem like I was doing less than I was actually doing. This year, I’m cutting back on how many personal goals I expect to meet each month (3-4) but will continue to work on career goals outside of my personal goals. It is much more realistic than trying to meet both career and personal goals while only noting the time for personal goals in my schedule.

Two great reads for building habits, creating routine and finishing projects are:

  1. Start Finishing, by Charlie Gilkey
  2. Atomic Habits, by James Clear

As we wrap up 2022 and head into a New Year, I look forward to seeing where life takes us next. If nothing else, life is an adventure and sometimes it feels like the twists and turns will never stop. I’ve made a plan for next year, but I can guarantee nothing will go 100% as planned out. That’s just part of living. I’ll reevaluate throughout the year, adjust the plan as needed and keep moving forward. In the end, I think that’s what really matters, that we keep going and don’t give up. I may not reach 100% of my goals, but I will know I did the best I could to get there, and changed directions when needed.