Happy New Year, my friends!

Welcome to the seventh installment of my favorite posts to write this year! My list of Top 10 2019!

It’s been an action-packed, adventure-filled year here at Texas Over Fifty. I think I’ll write another post soon – All the Things I Did for the First Time in 2019. There were plenty of those, and lots of other things that were fun the 2nd, 3rd or 4th time, too.

If you’ve spent much time at all here at Texas Over Fifty, you know I’m all about being intentionally adventurous. Thinking of ourselves a little and thinking about every other good thing in life a lot.

That’s my goal – to encourage all of us Over Fifty to live life filled with everyday intentional adventure. So, it almost goes without saying that 2019 was filled with intentional comings and goings all over the terrific state of Texas.

But …  what you’ll find in my list of Top 10 2019 is not so much what I saw as what I saw in someone. It was these Top 10 experiences that brought with them a certain measure of deep thought, interesting introspection or unexpected musings. That’s what will secure their spots in the annals of history as the true memory-makers of the past 365 days.

And oh my goodness. I sure have enjoyed sharing them with you.

Number 10 on the list was a story of what I saw in myself when starting over at Job #14 (or 15). While that experience was pretty monumental, Number 9 gave me even more to think about. Number 8 is the story of relaxing at a birthday sleepover with my granddaughter and remembering many sleeping-bag occasions of my own. Number 7 had me marveling at an old boyfriend from the past (how’s that for a teaser?). You can read about my crushing a big fat reading goal in Number 6  And Number 5 was really special, because it involved three of my favorite things: mountains, musings and my man.

With the next number on the list of Top 10 2019, it was plain to see. We were on a wall-eyed roll.

Here’s #4.

Back to the Basics on Galveston Island

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, do you feel like a vacation has to be a big honkin’ production if it’s going to be any good at all?

Me, too.

If you’re Over Fifty, you probably have fond memories of simple trips with your family in the summer and long drives in the back of the station wagon to Grandma’s house at Thanksgiving. And, hey. If your family traveled out of town more than twice a year, you were considered nothing short of r-i-c-h.

Well, that was then, and this is now, and furthermore, the world is a much smaller place now than it was then. Travel options are limitless, and exotic places are well within reach.

But sometimes, it just gets to feelin’ a little (as my SIL says) tew merch. The planning packs tew merch of a punch. The excursions cost way tew merch. And with all the amazing restaurants on the itinerary, there’s definitely going to be way tew merch to squeeze into our jeans when we get back home.

Every now and then, we all need to just cool our jets, slow ourselves down, take a deep breath and spend a little time getting back to the basics.

Air and Water

Number 5 of my Top 10 2019 experiences was about as basic as it gets.

We enjoyed a low-key Thanksgiving weekend on Galveston Island, where even just the air and the water made us grateful as all get-out.

Time and Money

Have you ever thought of going to Galveston in November? We hadn’t either.

But it was beautiful, peaceful, scenic and serene.

For less money than in peak season, we enjoyed some much-needed quality time with each other.

Rest and Relaxation

Everybody rested. Everybody relaxed.

And some of us read books.

Turkey and Puzzles

When you plan a weekend of basic fun, you gotta have a good puzzle to work, right?

Just make sure you stick to the 500-piece kind. Anything above that is no longer basic – it’s bonkers.

Laughter and Love 

Don’t you just love hearing your kids laugh together?

So do I.

A Challenge for 2020

Here’s the challenge for you and for me.

Let’s focus on the basics a little more in 2020. Life doesn’t have to be as complicated, costly and crazy as we make it.

We need to take a step back, look long into the mirror and ask ourselves a few important questions.

• Am I grateful for the small things?

• Do I need to spend my money on something more timely and less temporal?

• Should I be getting more rest?

• When was the last time I worked a puzzle?

• Am I choosing to see the humor, focusing on the joy, and looking for the bright side?

Sometimes the basics are all we really need.

Encouraging a life filled with everyday intentional adventure and a calendar not filled with tew merch,

PS:  Here are a few other posts you might like:

The Only Resolution I’ve Ever Fully Kept

Water, Water Everywhere

How to Make Outrageously Good Coffee at Home