Meandering no more

New Destination Ahead

You won't find the Slow Lane on any map, but I'm willing to bet you've been there, even if only briefly. You might even be there right now. For some, living in the Slow Lane means living on a shoestring. For others it means getting through a 9:00 to 5:00 job dreaming about a big break that hasn't come along yet. In other cases it means knowing you have more inside you to give or grow into, but no idea how to let it out. Simply put, The Slow Lane is that place between what your life consists of now and what you secretly know it could be.

There are a lot of walls built up between me and the things I want to do in life and the irony of it is I put most of them there myself. It is time to start taking them down, brick by brick. One of the benefits of middle age, I'm finding, is being pretty much fearless. I'm fatter and more decrepit than I was twenty five years ago (not to mention much less well-groomed), but oddly enough I like myself a heck of a lot more now than I did then. Maybe that is what's different now, what it took to be ready to finally look life in the eye and say "bring it!" I've fought more than a few battles on behalf of others over the years. Now I'm ready to start fighting a few of my own.

I may be stuck in the Slow Lane now, but my intention is to become un-stuck as soon as possible. I'm giving myself three years to buy a house, be published and be moving towards my long-term goal of writing becoming the primary way I earn my bread and butter.

Over the next few weeks I'll begin by re-categorizing my previous posts. Instead of randomly assigning categories to things I'm going to stick with just a few, namely:

Home and family: Updates and anecdotes on life as a second-time-around parent in the foster care system.

Dollars and Sense: Since money talks and bullshit walks I know making my plans a reality starts with the bottom line. Here I'll share my strategies and progress as I work to save a down payment on a VERY tight budget.

The Writing Life: As the name implies, this category will be all about the wonderful world of writing, everything from resources I've found and tools I like to status updates on my most recent WIP.

Heart and Soul: This category will be dedicated to the things it takes to keep my head in the right place, make time for self-care, and cultivate a spiritually satisfying existence through service to others.

Strategy and Planning: Every non-profit worth its salt creates and continually updates a vibrant, realistic strategic plan to ensure the change it wants to create really happens. Like most non-profits I'm working with very limited resources, so I, too, need a strategic plan to maximize my results.

Yes, I'm here in the Slow Lane right now but I'm ready to put the pedal down.