I have nine weeks until I turn 50.

Remember when I had 163 days left?  What have I been doing the last 100 days?

Here’s what I didn’t do:  I didn’t complete the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge, and I didn’t lose any weight despite making some changes in my diet.

Here’s what I did do:

I watched my daughter and her basketball team, the Lady Bruins, win back-to-back state championships. These young women accomplished this goal while trying to manage everything else that high school threw at them.  For my daughter, there were many late nights, missed classes, lower grades, and lots of social sacrificing. As a mom, the biggest lesson during the season was learning to listen to what she was saying, rather than telling her what to do.

I also traveled to Japan and I was surprised to see how my son seemed to have matured exponentially in three months.   Everything that made me cry by Day 3, he had tackled — living in a foreign country, commuting on a complicated train system, trying unknown foods, and essentially embracing a different culture.  Who was this man? I am not yet ready to concede that he is “grown,” but he’s close.

So, despite trying to focus on myself, I find that my life is really centered around the kids, who are no longer really kids.

Perhaps I haven’t figured out how to re-focus to my own needs because I am not really sure what those are.

For the next nine weeks, I am going to focus on my health.  This new blood pressure medication that I am taking seems to be working.  I have walked consecutively for 4 days on the treadmill.  I am eating salad everyday and trying to drink more water.

I have nine weeks until I turn 50.  What things do you do to stay healthy or get in better shape?