Happy birthday to me

For me, birthdays are more like New Year's. I get slightly more introspective and try to consider any changes I may want to undertake for the next year. It's also a great time to re-apply any new year resolutions that haven't quite stuck.

This year I'm particularly excited about my gift to myself:

After 3 years of thinking about it and talking about it, I finally decided to join a gym! I've lost a lot of strength over those 3 years, and haven't quite been pushing myself enough. So I'm doing small group training for at least 3 months to get back on track with fitness. I also need to revisit food choices and portions... yet I'm a fan of baby steps so the results really stick (and so I also don't feel as though I'm punishing and depriving myself).

So, as I enter a new decade, I'm making new commitments to myself about health, strength, and fitness. So far it's my favorite birthday gift ever because it feels like I'm doing something special for myself for a long time to come, and the people at the gym are so nice that it feels like a support network for fitness is built right in... which goes a long way towards community connection as well (still important to me after such a huge cross-country move... making connections and finding the needed support can be a challenge).