Looking Forward to Climbing Mountains, not Sliding Down any Stinking Hills!

It occured to me this morning that the title of my blog could be misconstrued. I realized one might read the title and think I was talking about the fact that losing this weight was going to be an uphill battle. While I agree, that it is going to be a lot of work and, yes, at times, it will seem like an uphill battle, that is not what I was thinking about when I picked, "It's Not Downhill From Here," as the title of my blog.


My title refers to the way I think about the upcoming second half of my life. That expression, "Over the hill," just sticks in my craw. I refuse to accept that I will be over-the-hill at 50, at 60, at 70, at 80, or ever. When I think about the first 50 years of my life and the obstacles I have overcome to reach the upcoming momentus birthday, and then I think about all of the things I can do in the next 50 years, I know the better half of my life is left to live. I am not on any downhill slide. In fact, I am out there looking for hills to climb, figuratively and literally. My figurative mountains involve career possibilities that I have dreamed about and that I now may be able to make a reality. Can I own my own business? Maybe so. There's not much stopping me now. Or perhaps I can run a non-profit that is doing something really meaningful to me. There are still so many things to do and there is no longer much in my way.

My literal mountains are all over the world! Two of my very favorite things to do are hike and camp. I have combined the two and gone backpacking once in my life and loved it! As I get older and have the opportunity to work less and play more, I plan on doing most of my playing in the great outdoors. I want to hike the Long Trail, backpack along the Appalacian Trail, play in the Rockies, and explore the Alps. I want to take in all the beauty the world has to offer, without a roof over my head or wheels under my butt (unless those wheels are on a bicycle). I want my own two feet to take me to and through the beautiful places in the world. There are endless hills out there to climb and I plan on getting up quite of few of them over the next 3 or 4 decades.

So, you see, it's not downhill from here. I have no intention of sitting on my (rather large) butt and coasting into the finish line. I intend to spend the next year working hard to get this amazing body I was graced with into fighting condition and spend the rest of my life pushing it to its limits. Am I going to work hard? Yes. But I am going to play even harder!