Its Almost 2012

Its Almost 2012 I'm pretty happy with 2011..who wouldn't be? I'm able to not work, ski all winter, travel...and live in a quaint, European like town on Lake Mephremagog in Quebec. This is a big change from the city girl (Boston) of the past 30 years. How I got here is for another day...

Not working was a huge adjustment. l liked the corporate pace, the clothes, the designer wining and dining, all the perks of city living. I liked being part of C-level management (even if I wasn't the C level officer, being partnered to one can be exciting too), I liked getting up every day, hitting the gym, dressing for work...I loved the people I worked for and with. And of course I loved the after work life. So going from 100 mph to what I deemed zero miles per hour, in another country yet, was daunting at first. I'm also not that old...most people work another 10 years.

So...it was an adjustment.I'm really proud that I lost 25 pounds and fit into all my clothes again (did I mention I ate my way thru my adjustment period? ). I discovered yoga...yup. The no pain, no gain mentality has been replaced by a namasti attitude. Whodathunkit???? I still do cardio...not just my manic, pounding way of the past. I have completely recovered my French...in fact I'd go months without speaking English if my Sweetie could speak French. I am in Quebec after all. (Oh, and for you mono-languaged Anglophiles who say but Quebec French is not the real French....its written exactly the same, the accent is different. Its like English....American English vs. British English, Scottish -- have you ever understood someone from Glasgow? Get my point?? Besides, how can you tell? You don't speak French!) Ok...thats' a pet peeve. Sorry. Really gets me from zero to 100 though.

So where was I...ok, well I said I'd save this for another day, but its so fundamental as to why I'm here, I've got to explain. I am Quebecois, 100% French, but have lived in the USA since 1st grade. My parents immigrated there. Then when they retired 25 years ago, they moved back to Quebec. Then my Dad got sick in 2009, and I came "to help" out Nov. 11, 2009....I never went home again. My Dad died in December, I had to place my Mom...its a long, painful story. But it ends well.

This time with my Mom has been special, a treat really. Some days the roles are seemingly reversed and I am the Mom where she is the child. But her mind is clear, its just not clear in the current. She's funny, witty...quick to get and give a joke. I'm getting to know things about her, her past, her childhood, her great love for my Dad, that I wouldn't have really known if I wasn't here on a daily basis.

Then I think...well, soon everyone will be retiring and moving on. Its what people do. Life moves on, change is the only constant as they say (whoever they are). So I'm 10 years ahead of the game. Most days, getting up when I want...hitting the gym at 9:30 or 10:30 instead of 6 a.m. doesn't really suck. Skiing mid-week sans crowds is awesome! Spending the month, (yes, the entire month!) in Bermuda this November didn't suck. We do what we want when we want. I've been given an opportunity to discover a life that doesn't revolve around a job. And I'm lucky enough to have a partner to enjoy and discover this life with. Solo, it just wouldn't cut it. What one is really, really dependent on though when not working is the weather. When you're going 100 mph with work and juggling gym/work/social life it doesn't matter what it does outside. When you're not working, most of your activities are outdoors activities. Then it matters. Thus...the month of November in Bermuda...

Anyway, my friend Gina started a blog a month or so ago. Which reminded me that I'd started this blog in 2010...I deleted the first two blogs, and am starting over. Lady G...I'm not competing with you. I like to write...have a folder full of rejected short stories...and I have the time so thought I'd give this a try again. If I bore you guys...don't read it! Not sure about the title: Gravity, Death, Dreams & Living...I came up with this in the midst of my life changing move, my Dad's death...etc. I'll keep it for now. Gravity is my current enemy, and I'm living my dreams...