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| A precious memory from Thailand |
Last year in 2012 I reached two milestones, the first being the biggest flood through my home, and the second being my 45th birthday (actually there was a third - our first overseas trip to Thailand for my sisters wedding). My birthday was significant for me because I had reached the age my mother was when she died. Not that this conjured up thoughts of morbidity, rather it made me think that if my life ended when hers did, there was still so much more I wanted to achieve...and so many things I had abused and wasted in my life.
My mother never drank or smoked, she lived a clean life and died of a congenital heart disease she never knew she had. Strangely enough she had me when she was seventeen so even though she died young, she still got to meet two grand children, one of those my daughter Lauren. I thought when I reached 45 that I did not deserve to live longer than her. I had abused my health by being a heavy smoker and I was drinking too much...it was time to change, to get out of my rut, face up to my flooding farm and embrace my life with my beautiful husband and children.
So...I gave up smoking on New Years Day this year. I enrolled in a gym, Curves, and to date have lost 7 kilos and feel the fittest I have for years. I now only drink occasionally and have strengthened my relationship with my children. I decided to stop putting off my writing ambitions and take a break in my studies towards a degree in creative writing to give me time to start a blog and write my novel. I attended a blogging workshop and discovered a philosophy called simple living.
Simple living is where I want to be and what I want to achieve to give me balance. I enjoy making bread, planting vegies and using cleaning products I have made that are environmentally friendly. I am proud of the journey I have started and the person I am rediscovering buried under the flooded layers...Tanya is still there and no amount of flood mud will keep her down.
Thank you for sharing my journey.
Regards
Tanya Bielby
