<strong>TAKING BACK MY LIFE!!!  WOOT!</strong>

Kristin, I think it's a GREAT idea to share our love lists.  Because, unbelievably, it is possible to get so caught up in the day-to-day that we can "forget" those things we love to do.  Something in someone else's list might just cause me to say, "Hey, I really used to love doing that."  Or it might jog my memory on something else I used to love to do.  Maybe it's something I want to make part of my life again or maybe not.  Awesome idea!

I find myself, as a single mom, at a place where my youngest of 3 is now driving and I have all this free time after work (although not for long because I'm in the process of signing up for some classes at the local tech) and I've been wondering what path I'm going to take next.  I know there are many things that I used to do that, over the years, have had to be set aside simply because I didn't have time.  It's been 30 years since I've had this much free time.  It's glorious!  She's been driving for 6 months and I've enjoyed my freedom tremendously but now I'm ready for new (maybe some old) things!  And I'm really excited about filling my life with things that I love, things that bring out the best in me so that I, in turn, can help to bring out the best in others.  In a strange roundabout way I think focusing on ourselves to discover what makes us feel good makes us better people and better able to be a positive contributor to the lives of those around us.

I know it's always good to focus on the positive, but on the flip side, paying attention to those things we do that make us feel bad is perhaps not such a bad idea either.  For instance, when I'm in a group of people and they are being negative in their talk, sometimes it's easy to pick up and join in which always leave me feeling horrible.  If I were to take note of that, think about it and why I do it and what I can do to avoid it or extract myself from the situation, then next time it happens, maybe it will be a lot easier to not become caught up in it.  I'm not a highly introspective person, so where this might be more natural or obvious to someone who is, it's not to me.