The Questions:
1. How can I be both kind and respectful to myself?
2. How can Tim and I move closer?
3. How can I build strong relationships and community by my actions?
4. How can I prepare my body for a long, fun life?
5. How can I consistently decide to be stay in the present?
6. How can I lead in public health?
7. How can I confidently move myself and other women forward?
8. How can I make each day memorable and fun?
9. How can I expose myself to new information and perspectives to further my goals?
The Answers:
1. My theme for 2007 was "Ready, Set, Decide." Being kind and respectful to myself has meant deciding that this is indeed my life and it is for me. I decide what gets included in my life, rather than adjusting to whatever comes along. In this vein, my friends helped me unload possessions, trim and define my task list, practice the skill of asking for what I want, write my accomplishments at the end of each month and act powerfully around money. 
2. Tim and I moved closer this last year because we consulted our brains and our hearts when things got hard. As a result, we've learned to be more honest with ourselves and with each other. In addition to the struggle, sweet times included cooking together, two-hour Florida beach walks and collaborating on projects like my successful job search. Monthly family meetings (99 so far!) and a cleaning chart also help things go smoothly.
3. More and more I recognize my wonderful group of friends as family. My 2007 friendship highlights included regular "walk and talk" dates, celebrating 10 years of knowing Kirsten, Karen's community birthday celebration at Mysore and magical times with the former SHE Study trainers. Beyond Minnesota, I took advantage of travel opportunities to re-connect with friends in Seattle, Milwaukee and Portland.
In terms of sowing the seeds for future friendships, I built or deepened connections at my new job, with people in my peer counseling community and with people who had previously been acquaintances.
4. I had lots of new ideas about taking care of my physical self in 2007. Faced with serious weightlifting burnout ("Why am I doing this?"), I took my coworker Ruth's suggestion and took the summer off. I decided to lift weights only during the winter months. One exception I made was wearing a weighted vest for walking. Although I'm still lukewarm on weightlifting, it sure feels great when it's done and the push-ups are hard to beat for empowerment.
Meanwhile, I continue to love walking the way some women love chocolate. In addition to buying my first and much-awaited treadmill, I also found two great indoor places to walk on subzero days. Finally, now that I work downtown, riding the bus means extra walking opportunities.
In terms of eating, I have never eaten better than I did this last year. This upgrade has primarily been due to Tim's regular farmer's market shopping and his preparing my weekday lunches. I've also happily kept with my two meals a day routine (breakfast and lunch). I enjoy both the convenience and the higher quality standard I now have for my meals.
The last important health change I made in 2007 was to switch to standing at the computer both at work and at home. It took about a month for my feet to adjust even with good shoes and anti-fatigue mats. After that month, my feet no longer complained. Two benefits of standing have been raising (no pun intended) my standard for comfortable shoes and more awareness of mindless "screen time". I don't foresee going back to sitting at a computer. 
5. My three main tools for staying in the present in 2007 were silent meditation days, paired listening called co-counseling and walks in nature. Doing silent meditation at home a few days a month gave me time to reflect on what's important to me. These days also strengthened my desire to "single-task" as much as possible and made me more mindful of what I say on my non-silent days.
In terms of co-counseling, I attended four excellent weekend workshops (one I organized, one on eliminating racism, one for protestants and one on leadership). I also both joined an ongoing co-counseling class and began preparing to teach my own co-counseling class in March of 2008. If you're in the Twin Cities and would like to come to an introductory evening, I will lead them on February 20, 27 and March 5th.
6. In April of 2007 I started my dream job promoting worksite health in Hennepin County. Specifically, I help employers promote healthy eating, physical activity and emotional health at work. See why it's my dream job? Concrete ways I've taken leadership include reading public health literature on the treadmill, getting listened to about successes and challenges in co-counseling sessions and helping create a sense of community with my cube mates on Serendipidty Street.
7. Three important ways I confidently moved myself and other women forward in 2007 were leading a women's support group, writing and e-mailing feminist book and film reports and truth telling. In all of these endeavors, I saw myself as central and significant and expected other women to do the same.
One of the many highlights of leading my women's support group in 2007 was repeatedly asking the question, "What's an embarrassing moment or a mistake with a person of color?" Over the year of monthly meetings, this question consistently brought us closer and showed how racism affects our lives. You're probably wondering, "What keeps that topic from being a total downer?" Well, luckily this group is super fun and uses paired listening so there's lots of room for expressing hard feelings and getting support (including high fives). If you are a woman in the Twin Cities, consider yourself invited to a trial membership in this incredible group. The next meeting is Sunday, February 17 in the afternoon.
In terms of my "Women Thinking About Women" e-mail list, this was a big year for sharing YouTube videos and talking about reproductive decisions. I am proud to know so many strong women who dare to live remarkable lives and are willing to share their insights.
In terms of moving myself forward, I began the year by negotiating the terms of my dream job from a position of acknowledging my own worth. A month later, the figurative roof collapsed on a key relationship in my life. The skills and practice of staying in the present (#5 above) came in pretty darn handy at that point. Thus began a year of truth telling, acting with greater confidence and a new leadership goal of being 'unhumiliatable'.
8. What
about
memorable
fun
and silliness?
- Two office chair races
- Rolling down a hill with Katherine
- Tim naming my new car EzPzJapanesey
- Taking photos and creating 35 poster size enlargements
- Watching funny YouTubes
- Walking all over St. Paul with Roxanne
- Enjoying B-Girl Be and Sicko with Joyce and
- Adding famous people to my Outlook address book like Margaret Atwood, Michelle Bachelet, and Shirley Chisholm.
9. In terms of educating myself, I saw an excellent local film on comprehensive sex education, heard Sherman Alexie speak, listened to excellent books on CD, read on the treadmill including Nygaard Notes, heard Tim Wise speak twice, experimented with using big sheets of paper for problem solving, attended a workshop on racism and classism through my new job, experienced sample sessions with nine life coaches, and chucked the Franklin planner in favor of a palm pilot.
Final thoughts:
Thank you to everyone who contributed their help and support in creating the rich life I lived this past year. I hope that something from what I figured out in 2007 has been either useful to you or just plain fun to know about.
P.S. For more of my favorite pictures from 2007, see the link on the left side of the first page of this blog or simply click the hyperlink.
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