With one GOAL IN MIND
ANYTHING’S POSSIBLE IN A YEAR THAT HAS ALREADY STARTED WELL FOR KERRE
We’re halfway through the year already and I’m pleased to say 2017 has been much better than 2016. It’s funny how different years seem to have their own personalities. I really didn’t enjoy last year.
There were a few highlights – finding out I was going to be a grandmother, travelling to Northern Ireland to see Van Morrison in concert and even having to be hospitalised with a broken wrist turned out to be a positive experience – but the rest of the year was pretty average.
I resolved at the end of last year to kiss, bless and release 2016, and to make plans to ensure this year was an improvement. Now, I’m pleased to report that those plans have come to fruition.
They weren’t New Year’s resolutions because I’ve read that most people have given up by February if they set resolutions for themselves. These were plans. I wanted to spend more time with Mum as she’ll be 80 this year and, although she’s as fit as a buck rat and her own mother lived to 99, I don’t want to take her for granted and I want to have adventures with her while we can both enjoy them.
So earlier this year, we went to the Chateau for a weekend and participated in a walk/run event at Tongariro, which was a great challenge for the two of us. For a completely different experience, we put on our glad rags and headed to Napier for the marvellous Art Deco Festival. And every time Tom and I head up to the Hokianga to spend time at our place, Mum comes too. She loves it there and it’s been fun achieving my goal of more mum time.
Slightly less fun has been the goal of shedding the 10kg I gained last year. It took me a while to get my head around committing to a healthy lifestyle, but it would have been hopeless trying to stick to an exercise plan and going back on the 5:2 intermittent-fasting diet while I had five glorious weeks in London learning to be a grandmother.
But I decided May 1 would be the day and, since then, I have stopped drinking, started back running and reintroduced two fasting days into my week. And what do you know? A month later and two kilos have gone.
It’s not rocket science, is it?
My intention is to stay on the wagon for six months and I have signed up to run the Queenstown Marathon again in November. I’ve also signed up for the Whale Run half-marathon in Kaikoura in September. I’ll be doing that with a few mates but I rather think that weekend will be more about having fun than serious training.
I have also signed up to do a first aid course, something I’ve intended to do for years. I would hate to come across an accident and not be useful. And now I have a precious grandson, I want to be able to look after him to the best of my ability. So it will feel good to complete that.
I still have a few goals to tick off. I had wanted to learn to meditate this year but, although I have downloaded an app that a number of friends recommended, I have yet to actually listen to the guided mantras and sit quietly to free my mind of clutter.
And I haven’t signed up for maths lessons, either. Ever since I scraped through School C maths, I’ve wanted to unlock the mysteries of the numerical world and I have put that on my to-do list every year since I was 15. But hey, there’s six months to go before 2017 is done and dusted, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned after 52 years on the planet, it’s that anything is possible!
‘A month later and two kilos have gone. It’s not rocket science, is it?’