Inaugural Post

Hello and welcome to my blog.

I have spent the last 3 weeks flat on my back with back troubles after an incredibly stressful year. It is safe to say that I have seen what stress can do and can also see my part in getting myself here. What has amazed me however are the stories that I have heard from others who are finding themselves in the same boat.

It's interesting to be an "observer" at this time of the year. Normally I am rushing from concerts to cookie baking and am inundated with lists and gifts and obligations. This year, I find myself being forced to really pick and choose my activities and I'm loving it. Tonight I shall watch my daughter sing in a concert, tomorrow I shall rest.

Others around me though are nuts! My mother is stressing about making a complicated meal for Christmas Eve, my friends are running like chickens with their heads cut off doing all of the things that they think they are "supposed to" and everyone in my area is panicking about an possible snowstorm that will cut time out of their preparations.

Shouldn't this be a time of year for simply enjoying what we have? The people that we love? The warmth of the season?

This is why I am going to devote 2011 to living more simply because I am observing the complexity and living with it's consequences. If nothing else, I hope to be a happier, healthier person. Maybe one or two of you will even join me!