Eek! I thought as I read this post by my friend Mary. How many days are left til my 70th birthday ?...and more importantly, just exactly where am I on/with my 70 for Seventy list?
It was also not lost on me that I'd written a post or two waaay-back-when on the subject but I'd never really shared the entire list. When I began thinking about such a project/list, I first wrote down whatever came to mind...and then I decided to organize the list via the nine categories of the feng shui bagua: Career, Skills & Knowledge, Family, Prosperity, Fame & Reputation, Relationships /Love, Creativity/Children, HelpfulPeople/Travel and in the center, Health. And that's where I think I left off - at least when it comes to the sharing.
I did a quick mental calculation and decided
- I had better than 90 days before my 70th birthday;
- I, had, indeed, if not always consciously, made some progress in most of the bagua areas;
- I could do an update/progress report of sorts for the next three months...and along the way, as life ebbs and flows, so will and does my list;
- And then I had the brilliant idea that I'd schedule these updates on the 15th of the month - thereby assuring that I'd stop and take stock.
So, with the above in mind, here is update #1:
Career: Even though I officially retired in 2010, I continued to teach a class at our local community college. 1)This year in May I taught my last class. So, now I am officially retired! Hooray!
Skills/Knowledge: I am constantly in a self-directed learning mode, taking classes and attending workshops, reading books and making connections in the digital world to grow and expand. My main interests this year have been art journaling and quilting. And I've devoted lots of time and energy in improving not only my technique but more importantly, experimenting and reflecting, focusing on my process and the outcomes, not the output. Thus far this year, 2) I've taken five art journaling classes and I'm currently taking an online class on iPhone photography.
Family: Of course I am connected with my nieces who live nearby but I hadn't touched base with my cousins who live in Oregon since for too long...so, when I went to Oregon in May, I made it a point to 3) schedule a couple additional days just to spend with my cousins. T'was good to reconnect and revisit memories of our younger days and most importantly, our connection to one another.
Prosperity: I suppose that's another term for finances...I really don't like spending time taking monthly budgetary inventory but 4) have set myself a "due date" by the 3rd of each month to attend to this task. And in doing so, I have dedicated time to organizing records and files.
Fame/Reputation: No "glee" for me...but I trust that I am living up to my ideals and principles and being authentic, being myself. 5) I attend to this daily.
Relationships/Love: Abound with family and friends, near and far. 6) I am capturing this in my daily journal, Project Life and the things I do on a regular basis. Plus 7) maintaining connections with my two friends via our joint blog.
Creativity/Children: My nieces are growing up, especially Kayla. She's in sixth grade this year, starting a new junior high school, making new friends and engaging in lots of school-related activities. I'm curious about how her interests and creativity will develop and how I can support them. Also, on the creativity front, I've been doing a major purge of the stuff I have in my studios, trying to 8) declutter and organize so that I have supplies, materials and PiPs (projects in progress) in order and readily accessible. So far, in this my 70th year, I've 9) completed five quilting projects, including a charity quilttop for my guild.
Helpful People/Travel: 10) I went to Sisters OR in May for another week of class and time with my friends and 11) plans are in the works for a trip to Ohio and Illinois this fall.
Health: Ah, the center of it all. I am fortunate that I am in really good health, save for a little osteoarthritis in my left pinkie and occasionally, I feel my knees - that just comes with growing older, as my doctor reminded me. 12) Each month on the 15th, I do a self breast exam and this month,13) my annual physical and eye exams scheduled. 14) I am trying to eat more veggies/salads and soups (and fewer potato chips - I get this urge to eat something crunchy about 4 pm) ...and I really need to step up my steps! It has been so hot that going outside for a walk takes a whole lot of will power.
Over the months I've also been slowly decluttering - clearing out closets, donating clothing, household items and books. Some of the items on my list I have crossed off, replacing with others among which is this, 15), a progress report, of sorts. To be continued...

(photo of me taken in my messy studio today on my iMac)
Cheers~