Seventeen Lessons Learned In 2017

The year was 2017 and my blog was under a different name. Going back now in 2020 to see whether any of the lessons are repeating themselves.

A firm believer in understanding the past to avoid making the same mistakes, here are some of the 2017 lessons. There is no doubt in my mind that at least one woman reading this today will see herself in one of these lessons.

Background

Context is always important, so as I did in 2017 let me share a bit. Copying and pasting from what was written then and updating to include what you need now.

Now 55 years old, I am the mother of a 32-year-old woman and grandmother of two granddaughters. Remarried in January 2020 and widowed in July 2020.  Prior to migrating to Canada almost 20 years ago, my professional life spanned secretary, communications specialist to quasi-diplomat at a regional organization.

In March 2020, COVID-19 started sweeping through Edmonton, Alberta which is my home since migrating. My last day on my fulltime job was the 23rd of that month. Home now going on five months, with the murder of my husband, I decided to reimagine my Facebook group into a non-profit organization.

2016 Lessons

When this post was first written, I reviewed the lessons of 2016 to see which ones were understood and the classes that were graduated from. They included:

1. Silence speaks volumes – It is not only beautiful but in silence you hear and learn so much. People tell and show you a lot when you remain silent and by theirs.
2. Buy only what you can eat – A stocked pantry is your best friend but I realised that my taste changes frequently so don’t overstock!
3. Strong Women Rock! – Embrace your strength and rock it!
4. Bitterness is a Burden – Even with the chaos, cash flow issues, being 50+ (and now widowed) never be bitter. Be Better!

2017 Gems

Fast forward to 2017 and these are some of the lessons learned by the end of that year:

• Lesson 9: You get a body and like everything in Nature, its form will change. From greying hair to a breast cancer scare (turned out to be a cyst) and now retinopathy with my right eye, 2017 taught me how to live with these changes. You have two choices: rail against it or embrace it. I chose to do the latter.
• Lesson 14: Stay out of unnecessary debt. You have heard this time and time again but until you have lost everything and have to live without credit, you will not fully understand the trap that debt is.  Ask yourself not twice but twenty times before signing up for that loan, “Can I live without this?”
• Lesson 15: Enjoy, actually seek out and love your own company! It is the best time you will ever have.
• Lesson 17: “Class is always in session!” 

2020 – The Year of COVID-19, Murder and Other Disasters

Come to the end of this year, I will be updating this list to the 20 lessons learned at the end of 2020.

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Peace and Love,