Back to the Grind

After weeks of family gatherings and friends visiting, wrapping gifts and presenting presents, trying on new clothes and trying out new gadgets, now I get to finish up the rest of the holiday whirlwind and start picking up where I left off. The guest bed will need to be stripped and laundered again, the floors vacuumed, the remnants of the New Years' celebrations taken out with the rest of the recycling. Along with it are the piles of scrapped wrapping paper and empty boxes, some clothes and worn out objects headed for Goodwill replaced by newer and fresher things, and old calendars sticking out from underneath them all.

With the passing of the old year and the beginning of a new, it's more than a simple changeover into a numerical account of time. I have declared new goals for myself, resolutions I have not put into effect, such as going to the gym twice a week and building up my strength and endurance until I am able to swim ten laps in the pool easily. Along with that goal, I have declared I shall drink no more soda, have a job as a vet-assistant, be off my medication with the blessing of my doctor, therapist, and boyfriend, and other such things... by year's end. It is the beginning of a new decade, and I will soon be turning 30. It's time to really get my act together and stop dilly-dallying. My physical body has grown soft and weak with poor constitution, my career has stagnated, my savings dwindled, and my creative spark diminished. All of these must be rebuilt in order to fully achieve my potential and grow positively into success and happiness. It will take work, and diligence, and education. I have chapters to brush up on for my externship interview. I am learning Spanish in my car. I must make the time to do what I can to expand my knowledge and awareness, and I must use the time I have wisely to maximize the effect.

And so I throw out things that do not serve me, and work toward things that do. I have many hurdles to clear yet, old debts that need to be paid off and holes that need to be filled in. It will simply be effort, time, and willpower to stop putting it off and just do it.

It's another year, another day back at the office, past the insane holiday season and back into the swing of things. A routine is re-established, but *what* goes into the routine is different. Streamlined. Focused.

Everyday, I am moving forward toward my dreams.