Marching into March

In the process of doing my “60 at 60“, I’ve noticed how much easier some challenges are for me than others. I had no problem finding the time to memorize 195 countries or learn some Portuguese, but my 30-day yoga challenge took me two months to complete. Funny how you can have time for one thing but not another thing that takes the exact same amount of time.

Organizing photos seems to fall in the procrastination category for a lot of people I’ve talked to, both pre-retirement (“It’s one of my retirement projects.”) and post retirement (“I keep meaning to…”). I’ve had the same administrative banking task on my list for months…okay, years, but because it’s not critical and can’t be done online – I’d have to drive 20 minutes to Trenton and go into a brick-and-mortar building (imagine!) – it just stays on my list day after day. What’s your to-do list albatross?

After my last post, my sister protested that our holiday with Tim and Pamela in Calabogie shouldn’t ‘count’ on my 60 list because we’ve gone away together before so it wasn’t something new and it wasn’t an adventure. I told her she wasn’t the boss of me and it counted if I said it counted. Having said that, I’ve redefined my criteria a bit by adding a new category.

Ray and Karen kept asking what I wanted to do for my birthday. A big party didn’t appeal to me because I don’t like being the centre of attention. I decided I’d rather have mini-celebrations throughout the year, not celebrations of me or my birthday, but celebrations of the relationships that have been important to me over the years. So, the three categories for my 60@60 list are: trying new things/getting out of my comfort zone; completing personal challenges to improve my physical, mental or emotional health; and celebrating the people in my life. I added one item in each of those categories for this month.

#6 – Study Portuguese (self improvement)

I had fun learning Portuguese, but as I’ve realized from studying Swedish and French, my ability to memorize grammar rules and vocabulary far exceeds my ability to speak the language. For my first few weeks using Duolingo, I had the free version, so once I’d made five mistakes, I’d have to wait until the next day to get my ‘hearts’ refilled. I quickly learned that if I tried the speaking exercises, I’d run out of hearts too quickly. “Hmm, that doesn’t sound quite right. Let’s try that again!” “No, that still doesn’t sound right. Let’s move on to something else!” I selected the ‘can’t speak now’ option.

I regularly sent my sister helpful phrases I was learning, like “seu urso bebe cerveja“. She mocked me, but if we come across any beer-drinking bears in Portugal, she’ll wish she’d paid attention. She did look up how to order the type of coffee she wanted (meia de leite), and, thanks to my lessons, I was able to warn her that meias de leite meant milky socks, so she’d better pronounce it correctly. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

#9 – Buy an iPhone (try something new)

After years of being an Android user, I finally bit the bullet and bought an iPhone. When Ray asked why I was switching, I found it hard to come up with a reason, other than to say that everyone else seems to have one (I can hear my mom’s voice, “and if everyone else jumped off a cliff…”). Funnily enough, that’s also one of the reasons I’ve avoided getting one until now, stubbornly refusing to jump on the bandwagon. Well, that and the price tag.

Those first few days after getting a new phone are always a pain when nothing works the way you’re used to and you can’t find anything, but I’m already a convert. I keep messaging Nick and my sister – I got a text and it showed up on my Macbook! Or, I took a photo with my phone and it just showed up in the gallery on my laptop! Just like that! – which is preaching to the converted as they’re both already die-hard iPhone users.

#10 – Spa Afternoon with Joanna (celebrate friendship)

Joanna and I met 29 years ago when we became Big Sisters to two sisters and we’ve been friends ever since. She’s someone I can talk to about anything without fear of judgment. We met up in Kingston for lunch and an afternoon at the spa – steam room, facial, and a mani/pedi.

10,000 Steps Per Day

For my March challenge, I’m going to walk 10,000 steps per day. I’m already aware of a few days where it won’t be feasible to get that many steps in, so I’ll aim to reach that milestone on at least 25 days and/or average 10,000 steps per day. For context, my average daily steps in February were 5,325 and I only reached 10,000 steps on three days, so this will be a challenge.

60 at 60 list:

1. January challenge: 30 days of Flow Yoga
2. Memory challenge: Identify all 195 countries in the world on a map (using Seterra app) 
3. Sunbathe on the au naturel island
4. Try pickleball
5. Climb a waterfall
6. February challenge: study Portuguese (use Duolingo daily)
7. Initiate coffee with someone you don’t know
8. Calabogie mini-vacay with Tim & Pamela
9. Get an iPhone
10. Spa afternoon with Joanna
11. March challenge: walk 10,000 steps per day on at least 25 days this month

Okay, time for me to get outside and walk! It’s March.