As I look back at the year that past, I remember an okay first half, terrible middle and good end. 2014 gave me memories that will set off tears and laughs and feelings of love.
January started with fun. My partner and I did a lot of outdoor winter sports together. Skiing from right outside our home. Skating at nine different Toronto ice rinks. We even ran outside in minus 20 degrees weather.
My work continued with the same classes and clients, I had since the previous year. I launched my new website which brought in some more interesting clients.
I started the long and arduous task of getting back on to the city of Toronto payroll again. The re-hiring process (and all the bureaucracy that comes with it) lasted nine months. By September I had a class, which turned out to be a really good group. I look forward to offering the public more of my community centre Pilates classes in 2015.
I got to swim in an Endless pool. I loved the experience so much that it set of a desire to own one. I started the process of figuring out a plan to afford such luxuries. The rest of the year, I took some risks to change my future that didn’t result the way I had hoped.
This summer I went to the east coast on a last minute whimsical opportunity. Deep down inside me, before I left, I had a feeling something bad was going to happen. I went anyway and put my whole heart (maybe not my head) into it. It didn’t work out. That hit my ego hard and put me into a deep depression for most of the summer. It seemed that one bad thing after another kept happening to me during those two months.
By September I made a decision to get out of the funk I put myself in. When I look back on the summer of 2014, I smile. I am grateful to my partner for standing by me this summer and helping create life long memories from our trip in the east coast.
After my birthday, I put a positive spin on my career. I dropped some classes and added some new ones. I love teaching classes and the stability it provides me gives me time to develop my future plan with an Endless Pool in it. The realistic plan I’m working on will have me using the amazing skills I’ve gained as a self-proprietor, while continuing to help people on their wellness journey.
I started a cooking class for kids. It was really fun. It was challenging, as it was the first time I’d dealt with kids, that young, in a kitchen before. I learned a lot from them and they now have skills that are way ahead of most 5-6 year olds!
I began to write fiction again. 8 years ago I took a long break from producing/directing films. Whole Self Fitness became my creative outlet through writing newsletters, blogs and marketing copy. I got so used to writing a certain way that it became harder to finish fictional stories I’d start. During my dark days this summer, I made a simple goal of writing three lines a day. By the end of the summer I had written a time line and summary of a feature length script. I’ve now turned the goal into one page of script a day I’m at 68 minutes of script (68 pages). It’s forming into a script I’ll be proud to send around in the near future.
I continued with piano lessons and have made a lot of improvement. The half an hour of practice every morning has been a joyous new hobby and brain activity. I was invited to make my performance debut at the quarterly recital my piano teacher has been putting on with students for over 60 years!
My health has been really good this year. I’ve skied, I’ve run, biked, climbed and swum. I’ve pushed my body but always to a point where I know my limits. I’m constantly appreciative of this ability to be active, in good times and in bad.
My diet for January went from Paleo to whatever-eo (within my limits of course). The diet I’m currently on could still use tweaks which was the basis of a 3-Week Healthy Eating workshop I created. I’m really proud of the workshop. Please sign up for this January’s class here, you will get a lot out of it…I promise.
The holidays were both fun and tiring at the same time. I stayed in Toronto which is not as snowy white as I would have liked. I got to see people I haven’t seen in a while and rekindle friendships, which made the holidays extra special.
Good bye 2014, you were an important year in my life. I will take the lessons I learned to make 2015 even better. 🙂