Ahhh, 2024 is now here. And today marks Day 3.

Today would have been my parents 43 year wedding anniversary. Later this month would have been my Dad's 94th Birthday. These are just a couple of the musings I've had since today started. And I suppose it is just a reminder that everything changes.

And, for me, that change is in full-swing today. Today would have been my first day back to work of the New Year, had things not changed in December. My husband and I entered into early retirement last month, upon the sale of the business he owned and I operated.

Today is the day I've been waiting for. Even though I was officially done with my position on December 19th, I would have had off until today with a Winter Break. Today is the day I would have had to go back and start a fresh slate of planning, marketing, goal setting and overall business management tasks that I've been doing professionally, year after year, for my entire adult life. The people, the places and the businesses may have been different but the directions were all the same. Deliver a quality service, maintain the highest standards in that service to generate a committed clientele and keep it profitable so we continue to thrive and grow.

And I was wondering what today would feel like. What would I wake up feeling? And the answer to that is calm. I don't feel the pressure I would feel to get as much of my daily 'life' stuff finished before noon, squeeze in a work out, make meals and run errands before I needed to leave for work. Since the nature of my career was focused on afterschool hours, I rarely ever had the chance to do an evening workout class or make plans for after 3 pm.

Well, the only thing I absolutely want to do this afternoon is go to a yoga class at 6:00 pm. That seems like the best celebration of my new lifestyle. It doesn't mean I won't still run errands, make plans and focus on delivering a quality service... I look forward to the renovations coming to an end later this month on my dream pottery studio. I also am grateful that I can pursue my writing now without as many interruptions as I would experience if I was focused on running the business.

I'm eager to share the progress on both of these endeavors with everyone as the year develops. In other news, I am successfully entering into Day 3 of my fitness routine and my brand new Sourdough starter, that I will affectionately refer to as Jane Dough. And since the start of my new lifestyle, I'm now on the third book I've been able to read. And that's what I'm enjoying most, the calm. The calm of my mind not racing with work tasks and projects that revolve around pressing deadlines and concern for all things needing to be managed and prepared... but the calm to wonder in my own thoughts and ideas and see where they lead me the rest of the day.