One is silver and the other gold

Looking out into a crowd of parents, the smell of red kool-aid and freshly burned chocolate chip cookies, the sound of click-ratchet-ratchet-ratchet-click as a dozen 110 cameras snap blurry, headless memories. Make new friends, but ke-e-ep the old; one is silver and the other gold. Little did I know what impressions were formed as a singing, sash wearing Brownie. Two simple lines of a song I remember nearly thirty years later. Simple words I reflect upon as I near forty.

I have been blessed with amazing friendships throughout my life. I have shared countless smiles and laughter. I have shared many tears and fears. I have shared several secrets. There have been few connections with my core. I value all of my friends, all of my friendships, but those core connections are those that have increased in value as we age.

As a teen, friendship was about time and events and hanging out and he said she said and shopping and fun and be fri/ st end necklaces. Friendship was everything and I thought it would be that way, forever, always and a day. Then came love, then came marriage, then came Jen pushin’ a baby carriage! Career, and family, took me in new directions and to faraway places. Life happened, perspectives shifted. Friendships became difficult to fit in with all of the other stuff life threw at me.

I struggled to figure out how to fit it all in to each crazy day. Each day began to run into the other and before I knew it, it was three months. Three months and I had not so much as picked up a phone, sent a card, or typed an email. There were those few who understood, the few who were connected to my core. The amazing people that when you pick up the phone after six months, you jump right back in like you never missed a minute. Priceless, amazing friendship.

I am fortunate to have a junior high bestie as one of my core connections. We have travelled parallel paths, but often on separate highways. Despite living 500+ miles from home, she is less than an hour from me. All too often, the craziness of life makes our short distance a world apart. We scheduled it and met for breakfast this week. Over pancakes and coffee, we shared amazing love and laughter. A priceless shift of perspective, from teens wanting to be adults to thirty-somethings flying fabulously into forty. A gentle reminder of the value of my core connections. An indication to make time, make contact, and let them know I value them…

It just got added to “The List”, Make contact with, make time for, and make memories with friends; old and new.

Make new friends but keep the old,

one is silver and the other gold.

A circle is round, it has no end,

that’s how long I will be your friend.

The List

I am taking this year seriously. I will fly into forty fabulously. Here's the start of how I will get there...

1. Complete 40 blog posts. Feed Your Soul Fantastic This will display my commitment to the entire project. It should be easy to achieve, that commits me to one per week with a week off a month!
2. Lose 40 pounds. Attainable with a loss of less than 1 pound per week for the year.
3. Complete 40 Random Acts of Kindness.
4. Have sex 40 days in a row. I’m thinking this could change my marriage, LOL.
5. Take control of my spending and journal each penny spent, for at least 40 days.
6. Share an event in NYC with my son; a play, a parade, a panhandler. We’ll see how this one unfolds.
7. Photograph and frame a series that has meaning from this experience.
8. New INK!
9. Go horseback riding.
10. Do something in the sky; parasail, skydive, hot air balloon.
11. Inspire one other person to embrace their life moment with positivity.
12. Meditate more, rage less. I think my family can quantify and qualify the progress.
13. Music, music, music. Feed my soul with music everyday.
14. Find out what my gifts are, and use at least a few of them.
15. Listen to and take my own advice and allow the eternal optimist image to flow inside and out. What Was I Thinking?
16. Try 40 new recipes.
17. Pose for pin up style pictures with our classics, at least 40 poses.
18. Memorize 40 verses of scripture.
19. Volunteer somewhere new for at least 40 hours.
20. Dance in a mud puddle, with company.
21. Experience a sunset in a place where I have never been.
22. Climb a lighthouse. Maybe one with at least 40 steps?
23. Do 40 consecutive push-ups, without collapsing. J
24. Send 40 handwritten notes by mail.
25. Purchase $40 worth of scratch off lottery tickets.
26. Have professional family photos taken.
27. Exercise at least 40 minutes a day, 4 days a week. This is an extremely lofty goal for me!
28. Complete the Dr. Oz Belly Busting Workout seven days a week until it no longer makes me burn and out of breath in three sets.
29. Reduce my own carbon footprint. Easy Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
30. POLAR PLUNGE!
31. Make contact with, make time for, and make memories with friends; old and new.
32. Make a gallon of wine from honey or fruit.
33. Experience a girls weekend!

Another New Beginning

2000. I left New York and flew south for a new and improved life. I was 27. Within a year, my whole foundation was ripped out from under me and I fell flat upon my face. I fell hard. The fall created hurricane force winds, a great deal of debris, some scratches, and a few gaping wounds. It took some time, but I was eventually able to see the rays of sunshine through that mushroom cloud of disappointment and sadness. The perspectives of who I was, who I am, and who I will be were new. I was forever changed.

I now look back on that amazing devastation as one of the best periods of my life. It allowed me to come to a new understanding of who I am. I have spent the last decade, my thirties, trying to live, laugh, love, forgive and let live; to the best of my ability.

My thirties have been amazing, but they are coming to a close. 2012 will be my last year to celebrate as a thirty-something. In January 2012, I will be 39. So many people speak as 40 as the beginning of the end. I plan to defy that by living 39 as a new beginning. This blog is the story of another new beginning for me. May it inspire you to be open to a few new perspectives, a few new things, and maybe even a new you.

Flying Fabulously into Forty

This year is my last as a thirty-something. I have begun the official countdown to 40. In order to make this another great beginning, I must take an active role in the direction I go. My intention for the year is positivity. I am building a list of Forty Fantastic Things to accomplish throughout 2012. Some may be minor and others may seem outrageous.

Creating the list itself may be quite the task for me. I have intentionally pushed the limits throughout my life. I have experienced many things and consider myself quite fortunate. I am a goal setter and work diligently to achieve them. The rules of the list; the goal must be SMART; the anticipated outcome must be FANTASTIC.

I have learned to love acronyms. Lines of letters helped me through school; PEMDAS for mathematical order of operations and SASH to administer meds. They helped develop my critical thinking; BM: bowel movement or breast milk? They reflect continued success in nursing; RN to BSN and on to MSN. I use them to shake free competing pieces of information from my crowded memory. Why am I telling you this?

SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely. FANTASTIC: Fun, Anomalous, New, Thoughtful, Astute, Stimulating, Truthful, Imaginative, Calming. That’s what this list is made of.  

So what does one include on a list of Forty Fantastic Things to accomplish in a year?

1. Complete 40 blog posts. This will display my commitment to the entire project. It should be easy to achieve, that commits me to one per week with a week off a month!
2. Lose 40 pounds. Attainable with a loss of less than 1 pound per week for the year.
3. Complete 40 Random Acts of Kindness.
4. Have sex 40 days in a row. I’m thinking this could change my marriage, LOL.
5. Take control of my spending and journal each penny spent, for at least 40 days.
6. Share an event in NYC with my son; a play, a parade, a panhandler. We’ll see how this one unfolds.
7. Photograph and frame a series that has meaning from this experience.
8. New INK!
9. Go horseback riding.
10. Do something in the sky; parasail, skydive, hot air balloon.
11. Inspire one other person to embrace their life moment with positivity.
12. Meditate more, rage less.
13. Music, music, music. Feed my soul with music everyday.
14. Find out what my gifts are, and use at least a few of them.
15. Listen to, and take my own advice.

So, I said I have experienced many things. I have shaved my head, dyed my hair, had extensions sewn in. I have had my passport stamped in an airport, taken a cruise, snorkeled the Blue Lagoon. I have tatted up a few spots, pierced a part or two, spent New Year’s Eve in Times Square. I fell in love on the back of a bike at 165 mph, learned to ride my own, felt the horizontal g-force of a 454. Gotten bucked off a mechanical bull, milked a cow, sheered a sheep. This list is one of my greater challenges. 15 down, 25 to go. Got any suggestions?

Welcome to my world... watch me as I fly by... fabulously into forty.