"Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you." ~Author Unknown I'm a creature of habit. Plain and simple. I'm not all about "change" as it applies to my normal routine. This is not a characteristic I'm happy about, by the way. It's just, unfortunately, the truth of the matter. I really DO wish I could be more of a "go with the flow" kind of person. I envy those that are! It just isn't in my innate makeup, I guess. Somehow, I find a level of safety in the mundane schedule of my everyday life. However, lately, epiphanies just keep sneaking up on me, and one of the latest is basically the old adage..."if not now...when?" See, for me lately, the fear of monotony is greater than the fear of the unknown. As the name of this blog will attest, RutnDot are living in a very "roomy nest" these days, and to still be in our 40s (sure, late 40s, but 40s nonetheless!), we're ridiculously "settled" in this life. This is MY doing...not Rut's. As long as I've known him, he's been a man who loves adventure. I'm the one who holds us back. Not cool, Dot. Not cool at all. We're too young to be living a "boring" life filled with "tedious sameness." It occurred to me recently that we are so fortunate to still be extremely healthy individuals. Perhaps we're a bit out of shape, but we ARE healthy right now in the grand scheme of things. I know all too well that life can change in the blink of an eye, so...as a I said before: If not now....when? (My Daddy had his massive brain-stem stroke that changed the course of his life at the very YOUNG age of 51, and this is never far from my mind.) So.... a month or two ago, I made a comment in passing to my sweet husband. It went something like this... "Hey, Honey, now that football season has come and gone, we're going to have a lot of extra time on our weekends. I was thinking maybe....well...it might be kinda' cool to.... what are your thoughts on hiking?" (See, we are SO NOT "camping people". No offense to those that are. We just aren't into THAT much outdoors. LOL So, I figured he'd think I'd lost my mind to even suggest such a thing as hiking around in the woods/through trails/etc.) "Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure." ~Irving Wallace Turns out, he was all for it and (in true Rut fashion) immediately began to research all things hiking-related. So...fast forward to last week. We decided that we would do a "trial hike" in a state park here in our own neck of the woods. No, we weren't scaling mountains or anything, but we just wanted to see if it's really what I was envisioning it to be. Great news! It WAS!! I loved it from start to finish! Here's why....
This guy is just THE best! SO patient while I took a gazillion pictures...even pointed out a couple of potential macro opportunities! I love him beyond measure and treasure the time we spend together! So, there you have it! Hiking! Looks like we'll be taking our backpacks on some road trips in the near future. I never would have thought it would have been for me, but as I recently told my own daughter..."never say never!" Who knows....maybe we'll even buy a tent and some sleeping bags one of these days. Ha! Now that's just crazy-talk! :) So, Reader, are you in need of an overhaul on your life's "tedious sameness"? It might be time to find a way to break that monotony! Maybe it's hiking...maybe not, but there IS something out there for you to try...something new.....something strange....something extravagant.... but most importantly, something that feeds your soul! All my best in your personal search for adventure! Until next time, ~D
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Hello, my few (but faithful!) readers! You may be minuscule in quantity, but you are MASSIVE in quality...always supportive of my thoughts here at The Roomy Nest, and for that I am most grateful. Well, here we are...in a brand-new year! I gotta' tell you the older I get, the quicker the wall calendar needs changing in our home! What's that all about? Hmph...strange. Anyway, 2016 is here, and you know what that means....resolutions. What exactly IS the point of them? Let's find out... "Resolution." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 3 Jan. 2016. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resolution>. ** (See, students? I DO practice what I preach! Citations are a must!) ;) ** Ahhhhh..... of course! It's all about finding answers! Had a problem last year? Bummer! So, just find a SOLUTION to that problem and you won't have to deal with it in this clean slate we call 2016. Easy enough, right? For example, bit your nails down to the quick last year? No biggie. Stop biting your nails in 2016. (no problem, right?) How about this one? Gained a TON (pardon the pun... or is it?) of weight in 2015? Solution: Lose the weight this new year. (Easy as pie! Oh....wait...there's pie??) Of course there's the age-old problem of not being able to find anything in your house/garage/car/etc. Problem solved! Just get organized. (I mean, how bad can your closet be? right?) Okay, so you get my hint of sarcasm in these examples. Listen, I'm all for finding solutions to problems. Thus, I guess I'm all for making "resolutions", but, unfortunately, I think a lot of folks just spout off a list of solutions at the beginning of every "new year" with no real PLAN to successfully achieve them. So....I think we need to take the annual "resolution process" a bit further. I, for one, plan to use the "kick-start approach". In fact, I've already started! Curious? Keep reading..... "Kick–start." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 3 Jan. 2016. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kick–start>. I know what you're thinking...."what's this got to do with motorcycles, Dot?" I hear you. Stay with me. While I DO have my license to drive a motorcycle, (Are you shocked? Yep. I do, but it's been a long while since I've done that kind of tom-foolery. Moving on....) I'm focused on the THIRD definition in the entry above: "To give new energy to something." THIS idea makes me super-giddy! See, I've got SEVERAL areas of my life that need some attention. Frankly, a few of them need a major overhaul. I'll spare you the specifics. Just know that I've got stuff to work on. You do, too. If you say you don't, well..... I'm not sure you're tellin' the truth, but hey, that's between you and our good Lord! Anyway, back to me. I've identified my PROBLEMS (well, those that are fixable). I've listed SOLUTIONS (a.k.a. "resolutions") to those problems. I even used the last couple of months of 2015 devising some PLANS to achieve those solutions in this new year. So, now...I'm ready to KICK-START the whole process. In fact, I've already made some changes. (I can read your mind..."Really, Dot? It's Jan. 3rd. There's no way you've done anything substantial just three days in." Yes, I really have. I'm giving it new energy. I'm hitting it head-on....with a POSITIVE mindset, and for the first time in a long time I'm actually excited about what's ahead. I have NO idea what that might be, but I just have a clear sense of PEACE that I'm headed in the right direction. That's the best way I can explain it. "If you asked me for my New Year Resolution, it would be to find out who I am." ~Cyril Cusack Let me try to sum it up this way. If you've followed this blog at all over the last two years you know that I deal with some pretty big mental/emotional issues. It's January. January is usually NOT a good month for me. I'm not sure why exactly. I've actually been told before that it's "just the January blues." Well, one of my 'kick-starts' is taking a picture and posting it every single day of 2016. (If you're interested, you can follow along here: http://dtrphotography.weebly.com/project-366) Today is (obviously Day 3/366) and THIS is what My God shared with me this evening through my lens.... You may not believe me, but it's the honest-to-goodness truth.... When I looked at the image on the back of my camera, I clearly heard Him say (not audibly, but in my heart/mind) "Dot, THIS is how I want you to look at January Blues from now on." Wow. Chills. Thank You, my Lord, for knowing me, for loving me, for Your always right-on-time reminders. In fact, I'm also going ahead and thanking You in advance for what I KNOW You're going to do in my life in 2016! "Believe you can and you're halfway there." ~Theodore Roosevelt So, you know the drill, dear Reader. This is the part where I ask you if you've made any resolutions for this new year. So...have you? More importantly, have you devised your PLANS for achieving those answers? Do what I'm doing....give yourself a good kick-start. The sooner....the better! Wishing you and yours a very Happy 2016...full of peace...and joy...and new discoveries...and endless possibilities! Much love!
~Dot |
AuthorHi! I'm Dot. I refuse to succumb to the "empty nest syndrome"! So, this is my journal.....my photo album.....my attempt to enjoy the next chapter of my life as it unfolds. Welcome to The Roomy Nest! Archives
January 2020
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