Letting go and moving on, with a little Captain Morgan's to ease the transition

OK, so Tuesday was not the most spectacular day of my life as a co-worker and employee. But Tuesday AFTERNOON was significantly better, and Wednesday morning was just kick-ass wonderful. So, I am going to try to figure out what I did on Wednesday that so improved my outlook.

Oh wait, I remember, I had some time alone, and I did something for MYSELF.

Ahhhhh. Refeshing !

I plan to give that a try again soon. I highly recommend this strategy. Doesn't have to cost anything, doesn't have to be planned in advance - even if you just grab a blanket and take a nap in the sunshine of a local park, or take a nice walk, I believe that the key for me is GET OUT OF THE HOUSE ALONE. So, with that said, I plan to continue with those efforts as much as possible in the future.

Step 1. No working on Mondays and Wednesdays when the kids are in school. No no no. Yes, I know, I was worried about how I was going to fill those long, lonely, empty hours. Well, fear not. I have a new plan.

I will go to the gym for yoga. Oh yes I will ! Because I joined the gym, and dammit, I'm going.

And then ? I will actually GO to the chiropractor as prescribed by my doctor and covered by my health insurance. Because I need to go, and because it makes everything else in my life (like, oh, sleeping and walking and standing upright) easier and more pleasant.

AND ???? I will eat a healthy meal. No more "forgetting to eat". I am going to take the initiative to feed myself, even though I have no one else around to prepare food for.

But there are other steps, too.

Step 2. Do not spend money trying to stay busy.
The $20 a month I spend on the gym membership is the only expense of my little plan. And that $20 is money I would have been spending on antidepressants and pain meds. So VOILA ! Med-free, and working on my fitness. Fergie would be so proud.
And by Fergie, I mean this one:
(image PEOPLE)

Definitely not this one, though she might be proud of my whole budget conscious fitness regimen too:
(image Getty)

Step 3. Set a few goals to get accomplished during the day as well. On Wednesday, I kept the bar very low, because I was so stressed out. All I wanted to do was manage to mail some bills out on time (one of the things I am very bad about doing).

SUCCESS ! Gosh, I can just hardly imagine what I can accomplish, with lofty goals like these.

Step 4. Make lists. I am using my Blackberry to put in reminders for EVERYTHING, from the classes I want to take at the gym, to the birthday party we were invited to on Wednesday afternoon. If I put these reminders in, I can relax, and forget about it, because I KNOW I have it covered. My phone will beep and flash and remind me of what I have to do, so i do not need to remember a whole bunch of crap that quite frankly, I can't keep straight in my muddled little mind.

And so with the weight off my mind and my heart, I can proceed lightly. EEEEEEase my way into the next stage of my life, which I can only hope will be considerably less stressful then the previous stages.

Onward and upward, people !