The Challenge

It's August and that means that author Laurie Halse Anderson's "Mad Woman in a Forest" annual write-a-thon has begun.  Actually, it began yesterday, but since I was out of town entertaining children today will need to be catch up day.  I tried to write for 15 minutes every day last August.  While enthusiastic, time and obligations simply didn't allow me time to write. 
I have made many changes to my life since August 2010, which should prohibit me from falling into the same pattern that most teachers encounter each August with the return of school.

Last January I began to contemplate the fact that this year I would turn 50 years old this year.  Every decade seems to have milestone.  Perhaps the significance is only relative to the individual who has met that milestone?  So my thoughts ran through a long list of what I might accomplish by the time that I turned 50 years of age.  Just getting to the half century mark should be significant enough, right?

Reading 50 books by November 10th seemed unreasonable as my job micromanaged every waking moment of my free time.  Losing 50 pounds seemed like a wonderful idea, until reality set in and I realized how hard it was to simply lose one pound a week. (I'm still trying!) Perhaps simply choosing to try 50 new things by November would be an accomplishment in and of itself. While this blog was initiated in January, it went no where.  That doesn't mean the the "50 by 50" didn't begin, but now I will find accountability in perhaps a follower or two.