December 5, 2021

And so, I begin… 

Wow…it’s a month later – how’s that for an auspicious start? Let’s try this again.

I call my blog Seriously Quirky. 

My name is Kelli.

Nice to really meet you. 

Today is Monday, December 27, 2021. 

I just turned 58. 

When I was in my early 40s, I started having a teeny tiny issue with a toe on my right foot. Somewhere around 51 or 52 I moved a bookcase without taking the books out and my hip hasn’t been quite the same since. About three or four years ago my right eye just went haywire. 

In early November I started having some issues that my doctor(s) believe are related to hormonal changes. 

Hmm? 

Some other tidbits about me: I love cheese. Salt is the primary reason that I eat food. Also, large portions are fun. Cooking is joy. It’s my personal belief that beer and wine take food and cooking to another level – a fabulous level. And over a period of years, I turned my cooking, eating, and drinking habits into my bonding time with my husband. I cook dinner and serve it.

Just to revisit one thing – I’m 58. I’ve had some pesky, little health issues piling up. 

Also, I’m not stupid. 

I know you’re not stupid either, so you know where this is going. 

I’m aging. Except for my eye problem, every health issue that I have is and can be largely impacted by my behaviors and my choices. My “pesky, little” issues will become more than little and more than pesky if I don’t make a different choice. 

Oh, I know, you’ve heard it all before. It’s right before New Year and I’m just turning over a “new leaf,” right? No. It’s right after my 58^th birthday and hormone changes – which are thoroughly impacted by my behaviors – have leveled me. 

This has been on my schedule for a long time. I’ve known it. This annoying little voice got louder and louder, but I pushed it down. Until this hormone “thing.” Ugh. 

So…when I started this blog, I had several goals. Some of my thoughts were very clear, others were murkier. The act of actually beginning the blog helped me figure out what I wanted to say. Writing has always done that for me. It is both a skill and a tool for me. It helps me think. And I never fully know what I think or how I feel until I go through the process of writing it down. My writing helps me. I thought it might help a few people and more importantly, help me connect to others. 

What I knew for sure (I swear, I’m not trying to channel Oprah here.) was that I wanted to write. A few of the topics I had on my list were mental health, women’s mental health, women’s issues, eating, cooking, drinking, self-improvement, humor. 

Then I started writing. 

I started with easy topics – my grandmother, a dog barking in my neighborhood, an incident I had on vacation. But increasingly topics related to women’s issues and women’s health kept popping up for me. It’s not everything, not my only topic, but it’s BIG. 

I told a friend about my blog. Then another. I talked to my sisters, my mom. I posted links to my blog on Facebook. People started reading. I started to get comments. Some friends called. Everybody was so nice. Everybody said they enjoyed it. They thought it was good. They looked forward to reading it. A few people even reached out when too much time passed between blogs. They were actually checking for my blog. 

Oh dear. 

Like I said, I’ve been writing a long time – not a personal blog – but writing and I’ve read a lot about writing. I’ve been to writers’ seminars, workshops and retreats. So, I knew a few things: 

            1 – Write what you know.

            2 – If you don’t like it, they won’t like it.

            3 – If you’re insincere they’ll know. 

            4 – It will reveal you. It will expose you. 

            5 – It takes bravery to put your real self out there and to write, you must be real. 

Suddenly, every time I looked at the blinking cursor and blank screen, I saw myself standing at a podium, everyone I knew looking expectantly at me. They were all reading. 

A lot of this health stuff is really personal. 

Have you ever been on a plane and had a total stranger sit next to you and tell you about the most intimate details? I didn’t want to keep my blog a secret from the people closest to me, but honestly, when it comes to really personal stuff, I’m writing to a person I call “blog audience.” Blog audience is super nice. She’s likely a female, not at all judgmental and there is exactly zero chance that she’ll call me and say something like, “Oh my God – I read your blog! I never knew you thought that stuff. Can we talk?” 

And yet, I feel compelled to write and share this journey. 

There are people in my life who are intensely private. They won’t tell you their favorite color, much less write a blog – and a blog about intensely personal issues? Who would do that? 

I guess me. 

Someone once told me that my tendency (there’s an understatement) to talk about very personal issues with just about anyone, helped just about everybody. I took it as a huge compliment. Besides, I can’t not share. It’s not in my nature to shut up. Writing about intensely personal issues is another animal, so to speak. 

But here it is. I don’t want to lose my health and I’m running out of time to fight this growing tide they call aging. I’m going to have to do nothing less than change my lifestyle. I’d like to share some of this journey on my blog, but to do so, I’ll have to share some deeply personal facts, experiences, beliefs, and feelings in print. Doing this will help me. I hope (fingers crossed here) that it turns into a conversation and that I help someone else and that she (or he, I don’t care – guys welcome here) helps me. So on, so forth. 

You might be asking what I have to offer besides just the personal experiences of yet another out-of-shape American female. Well, a long time ago, in a faraway land, I was a counselor. I’ve spent my life studying and contemplating mental and emotional health. And, when I’m not cooking, I’m often on the treadmill or out on a greenway walking or biking. Yeah, I’ve been straddling two worlds for a loonngg time. I’m kind of a chubby-foodie-fitness buff-feminist. More on that later. 

All my blogs won’t be about this, but starting with this, I’m sharing my journey. I’ll be writing about some of my struggles as I go, but I also hope to share some of the wisdom that I’ve gained. Reading about mental, emotional, and physical health has been ongoing for me and as I put it together, I’m going to share a list of resources for anyone interested. 

So, where am I headed? 

Put simply, I’m going to lose weight, increase my fitness level, reduce my salt intake, lower my blood pressure and cholesterol, educate myself about women’s hormones and health, improve my sleep and emotional health – and hopefully have company – yours – on this journey. A long life isn’t my goal. Being as healthy as I can today is what I’m after. 

Will I succeed? Either way, I’ll share it. 

Is sharing all this a bad decision?

Possibly.

Oh well.

Here goes.