Starting the New Year Right by Suzanne Rossi

Hi everyone.

It is now officially 2017. Can't say that it feels any different from 2016, at least, not yet. I'm looking at the same gray, gloomy skies, chilly temperatures, and frequent rain as I did in December. But then, that's winter in Memphis, Tennessee.

I'm not a big fan of making New Year's resolutions. In fact, I gave it up years ago. I found that by the time the end of the year rolled around, I hadn't kept many--okay, make that any. Zip. Zero. Nada. I finally came to the conclusion that if I didn't make resolutions, I would achieve my goal by December 31st. Made sense to me.

However, that doesn't mean I don't have things I want to get done in 2017.

First off, I need to get back to actually writing--not critiquing, not editing, not revising--but real writing with new stories, new plots, and new characters. The past six months has seen my routine in upheaval. We sold the house in Fort Lauderdale in July, moved to Germantown in August, and have spent the better portion of the fall and winter unpacking and getting used to the climate again. Somehow, writing fell by the wayside. Not only do I have problems finding a decent storyline, but my mind flits from one thing to another like a nervous butterfly.

And then, there are the renovations I want to do to the kitchen along with a room addition onto the back of the house. But that will be another blog on down the road.

I was also determined that my husband and I who are both pushing seventy (he's there, I will be in November) need to get in shape. Writing is not conducive to exercise, and since he retired a couple of years ago, the hubster has also taken to a sedentary lifestyle. That's one reason why I pushed for a house with a pool. At least in the summer we'd get some activity going. Also, our bedroom is upstairs. We haven't climbed stairs in over twenty years. I huffed and puffed like the big, bad wolf. So when a brochure for the Germantown Athletic Club came in the mail, we hustled over and took a tour.

The Club is up to date on the latest of everything. All those machines were intimidating, but the shallow pool, the forty foot regular pool, and the hot tub looked inviting. They also have personal trainers for the truly serious (not us) and numerous group activities like Zumba, water aerobics, and all types of yoga. I may check out some of those later, but for now, we've agreed to take it slowly. We'll go two days a week at first. That should give us time to recover from what I'm sure will be crippling muscle aches before tackling those machines again. When we no longer hurt, we'll increase to three days.

We signed up yesterday, and decided our first experience will be Friday. I'm looking forward to it. We even went out and bought some proper workout clothes. After all, image is everything, right? And speaking of images, I can see me tripping over my own two feet on the treadmill, falling face down, and flying feet first into the aisle where I will cause some little old lady walking by to tumble head over heels and break her hip. Since modern technology is everywhere these days, I'm certain someone will catch all this on their cell phone. So, look for me to become famous on the Internet.

I hope you all are having a good start to the new year. Take care, and since February is a short month, I'll be back in March.

Suzanne Rossi