Skating

I recently decided to revamp this blog and also started an Instagram account for it ( @mywtfblog, if you’re so inclined). I thought, “Hey this is a great time to bring the blog back! I’m doing all these fun and new things! I’m in California!” And while that’s all true and nice, the real reason and the only one that actually means a damn is that I just simply like writing it. I don’t care if it gets 3 views for my most heartfelt post, it’s the act of writing and putting my small mark on the world that drives me to write. Why do I always have to have an agenda?! Why can’t I just have a hobby?

Perhaps that’s what I am most excited about from leaving coaching, embarking on this sunny adventure, and then returning to school- I get to have skating back to be all my own. For the past 13 years I have only gone to the rink to serve my students. 99% of my trips to the rink I was lacing up my beloved skates for someone else’s dream. Absolutely not, I am not going to make a comeback (don’t even suggest it I am WAY TOO OLD). But now I get to go to the rink, when I want to, skate as much as I want, leave when I want, and do whatever I want again. I get to have my first and most beloved hobby back. I always said skating was my first love, and it still is today.

It’s been 3 weeks since I’ve been on the ice and I can’t wait to get back. I feel like it will be like meeting an old friend again, and we will pick up right where we left off.

A Life On Display

This past weekend I visited the home of my friends Mark and David who live in Washington DC. I was told that they have a beautiful home filled with art. Being an HGTV junkie and old home fanatic, I was thrilled to see their place. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint.

Mark took me on a tour of their home and told me the history of the neighborhood, the renovations that occurred, and why their home was different than others on the block. I learned the stories behind the art in their house. But what I was really witnessing was Mark recount the life he had created with his husband. On their walls was not just art, but living proof of their journeys, adventures and passion for travel.

It got me thinking- what will be on the walls of my future home? How do I want to live my life? What kind of sanctuary do I want to create? How can I build a life that I would be proud to display?

This could be anything! Our walls could be filled with degrees from various universities, awards from our careers, the Nobel Peace prize, photography and original artwork, children’s accomplishments or mementos from travel. Whatever we value and hold close to our heart can be on our walls. Our passions, and the passions of our partner and family, can fill the blank spaces of our house and turn it into a home. Our lives can be amazing tapestries of journeys, discoveries and triumphs.

Here’s the catch- we have to MAKE it happen. Mark and David didn’t strike gold, which allowed them to leave their professions and travel nonstop. That’s not most people’s reality. We have to craft our life in a way that allows us to make it possible, whether we create the fulfilling career, or the ability to stay at home with our children, or the freedom to travel the globe. This life, this amazing and rich life, requires our constant love and attention to help it blossom into the dreams we crave.

My word of 2016 is momentum. I hope that this year I build momentum as I act with purpose and intention to create my next phase of life.

WTF are you doing to create a life that makes you proud?