My Nomad Journey – Week 6 & New Year 2025

Happy New Year to you all! At least, if you subscribe to our nationalized observation of what the new year is in the United States (and much of the world). I personally have started to subscribe to the older systems of belief that the new year officially starts somewhere in March, with the change of the season and beginning of Spring in the northern hemisphere. But that’s for a different conversation.

Many of you may be starting your resolutions for the new year, setting yourself up for new habits, behaviors, goals and accomplishments. I wish you nothing but success, because I believe that everyone deserves a chance to accomplish what they set out to do and to improve their lives in the ways they seek to. Isn’t that what getting off the comma is all about?

I no longer set resolutions during the new year. I believe is setting intentions, goals and making declarations throughout the year. Much greater chance of success for me, without the pressure of “running the race” at the beginning of the year. I have been and will continue to focus on opportunities and possibilities for this year. This is the year that I will be working to create more opportunities for my business, create products and services that uniquely mine, and continue to create independence and freedom for myself. I hope you are able to do the same.

This week was a weird time warp. Having two weeks of holidays that fall in the middle of the week really threw me off. Every third day was a Monday and every couple of days there was a weekend! It was like having four weekends separated by 2-day breaks! Anyway, it threw me off a lot chronologically, but I did enjoy the turn of the calendar year.

Here’s What I Did:

This last week was a busy work week for me, as I continue to work on an important client project. However, I was able to be productive in my working hours and carve out some “off time” to enjoy the New Year’s Eve and Day holidays.

The week started with a rough Monday. For some reason, I was just off-center all day and really struggled with the most basic of tasks. The day ended on a positive note, when I had a breakthrough during my session with my coach. A workshop that I’m planning to create has had me on a comma for a few months, and I think we may have had a breakthrough. With the help of my coach, I found a new path forward and some new ideas. The inspiration continued to blossom over the next day and I got a download from the universe with some ideas.

Question for you: If I told you I was hosting a workshop called “How Not to Be An Asshole”, what is your first thought?

For New Year’s Eve, my friend and I wanted to be home and bundled up on the couch, so we grabbed an early dinner at a really neat restaurant nearby. It was in a restored general store with a “mercantile” theme and decorations. Along with the Christmas decorations, it was most festive. The food was really tasty and the people watching was a lot of fun. Oh the stories we tell ourselves about people who pass by without ever exchanging a word. One thing to note… for an appetizer, the restaurant was serving Labneh. If you’ve never heard of it, look it up! It was delicious. We asked for extras of the warm pita bread it was served with. Amazing! Oh, I almost forgot. There was a cellular tower across the street from the restaurant. Birds were swarming it and using it as a roost. It was fascinating to see and reminds me how resourceful wildlife can be. We need to remember that about ourselves, too. We came back to the house with full bellies and binge watched some TV until the ball dropped. After that, it was bedtime.

We were saddened to wake the next day to the news of what happened in New Orleans. Such a terrible violence that ended so many lives at a time of celebration. Having known someone who lost a loved one on a big holiday, I feel deeply for the families of those who were lost, as it will be extremely difficult to relive the anniversary each year. I hope each of you stays safe this year. I don’t believe things will get any calmer.

For New Year’s Day, I got to sleep in and just relax. I made cheddar biscuits (from a can, the easy way) for breakfast snack and then helped my friend with some overdue chores around the house. This also included a moment of inspiration by her to put away all of the Christmas decorations. You know, there are many reasons I no longer celebrate this holiday and putting away decorations was one of them. 🤦‍♂️ But I’ll be damned… As much as I dreaded it, she had a system and we had it all packed and put away within half an hour!!! I was floored! Along the way was a failed attempt at the gym. ( I went, got distracted with messages in the car, went in and attempted one machine, then left! ) I napped instead. For dinner, we observed her tradition of black eyed peas and cabbage, which was pretty tasty. It reminded me of growing up in Texas. My mother also subscribed to the black eyed peas tradition, which was supposed to bring good luck and good fortune. Funny… if how I grew up was good fortune (and I trust that it was), then I would hate to see what bad fortune would have been!!!

The rest of the week was a combination of work and another travel outing. On Friday and Saturday, I drove from Atlanta to Tennessee to meet up with a friend of mine in Knoxville. We booked a rental in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, up in the Smoky Mountains. It was a short trip, but it was mostly about catching up with my friend. It was a nice road trip, about 3.5 hours to Knoxville. I enjoyed some quiet time in the car with nothing but my own thoughts and watching the scenery. No music, no content. My friend drove to the mountains. We checked into our rental and dropped our luggage. It was a really sweet 2 bedroom cabin on the side of a hill, with a fireplace, decks and even a retro arcade game! After settling in, we drove around the area and checked out the “strip” in each of the 2 towns. Even though it was deep winter and all the nature was dormant, it was still beautiful up in the mountains. I would love to go back in the spring. I had never been to this area before. I was surprised at how tourist-focused it is. To me, it was like one large theme park and shopping mall. Like a family-friendly Vegas. We had dinner at Paula Deen’s restaurant, because my friend wanted to try it out. Let’s just say that “family style” is crazy! After, we walked around in the cold and looked at the shops and scenery. I remember telling my friend, “this is what the rest of the world thinks every neighborhood in the US is like”. It was all “over the top”, right down to the 2 different “patriot stores” that sold merchandise designed for a specific audience. Back at the cabin, we spent the evening catching up, telling stories and talking about our business goals and intentions for the new year. The next morning was breakfast, some more exploring and then I drove back to Atlanta. The navigation took me back a different route, via county roads and state highways. What a treat that was. I got to see new scenery, see the eastern side of the southern Smoky Mountains and had almost no cars in front of me or behind me for the entire last half of the drive.

The last Sunday of the holiday season was very calm. I slept in, did some chores around the house, made it to the gym and a haircut and took a wonderful nap, playing spa music in my airpods while I slept. While it rained outside, I did a little work and then we had soup and grilled cheese toasts for dinner while watching TV.

One funny story… (not so funny). I wanted to cover dinner one night with my friend, by ordering Thai food delivery. I think it’s safe to say that we all see how expensive food delivery has gotten. Do you remember the day when you could just order direct from the restaurant and pay a small delivery fee? Now that third party tech apps have inserted themselves, it’s become ridiculous! (Sorta like health insurance, no?) Anyway, I ordered 2 entrees, an appetizer and a side salad. About $48 worth of food. However, by the time the app added 2 different fees, tax and I added a 15% tip, the total came to $76!!! For Thai food delivery!!! The added costs were more than 50% of the food cost!!! Suffice it to say, using delivery apps is another thing that is going into the waste bin for 2025 for me!

Here’s What I Learned:

This week was a mellow week. I really appreciated the fact that my friend and I had the same thoughts about keeping the holiday celebration low-key. We are both over 50 and long past the need to go out celebrating with the crowds. What I learned is that slow is okay and that there’s nothing wrong with bundling up and being relaxed. Actually, I’ve been this way for a long time. What was different was that it’s okay to do that when you are with someone “on holiday”, too. There’s no need to make something bigger or more special, just because it’s a holiday and just because you are with others. What was important was to check in with my friend and for us to come to agreement on what we both wanted to do. And that suited us just fine. We did, however, make plans to take a road trip of our own. We’ve made plans to take her dog with us and drive to Savannah in a few weeks. Just a weekend, but it will be an excuse to get away, do some exploring and change up the routine a little bit.

Question for you: Where in your life do you need to release some pressure and allow yourself to not worry about anymore?

This week, through a series of conversations, I learned how important it is for me to respect my “gut” feelings, AND also to take action right away. When my gut or instinct tells me that something is a good idea or will be beneficial for me in some way, I need to take action… take steps… even take one small step… to move that thing forward. Often in my life, I actually do this. Just ask my friends who have seen me go from zero to accomplishment in what seems like a blink of an eye. Other times, I get really excited, but hold a belief that I’m “too busy” or “can’t get to it”, and then make a whole bunch of notes and todo lists. While that’s okay too, what I’m not doing is taking a step to move it forward. Now and in the future, I need to do something more action-focused than a todo list. When I don’t do this, it becomes too easy to lost motivation very quickly and find myself questioning not only the thing I said I wanted to do, but also the original inspiration that birthed it. As an example, I said in December that I wanted to host a workshop in the new year. I set a date for January. Weeks later, I had done nothing, so my coach and I were back at the same topic and I was feeling very frustrated. I set a new date. Weeks later, same thing again, but this time I had lost all interest. (I referred to this earlier in this post.) While we did get me back on track and I did come up with notes, inspiration and ideas, I have still not done anything that really moves the workshop forward. So this week, I will take a step: either setting up registration, save the date, or putting out a post on social media. (Ugh!!!)

Question for you: What is something you need to take action on right now?

Also this week, I got some clarity about why I feel like I’m sitting on a comma right now. What’s interesting is that you might think I was feeling pretty “off the comma” with my nomad journey and all of my travels. I do. I actually am feeling very freed after the events of the last 2 months. But I’m also still feeling stuck about something. I think that there is so much MORE I want to do: more travels and outside the country, more experiments, more crazy things. So, without getting into all the details, I learned that I am sitting on a comma with wanting to find ways to fund a “bigger” life. I guess you could say that my comma right now is money, because I really want to go Bold and Big! I’m not even 100% clear on exactly what that means, but it definitely means seeing parts of the world that I haven’t seen before. It means being able to take blocks of time away from working. It means being able to access resources that can help me bring some of my ideas to life, without me having to do the work by myself. It means also supporting creators, causes and businesses that matter to me. It does NOT mean buying more things, having a big house, or exotic resorts and trips. I simply want to do more and be freer to run farther and faster. So I share that with vulnerability. The comma I want to get off of this year is being constrained by financial limitations. I also recognize that this may mean a whole lot of things beyond just how much income I generate. Stay tuned.

Question for you: What comma are you focusing on as you start the new year?

I spent some time recently with a friend working through some Tarot reading experiments. One of the messages that came to me was how important it is to “chop wood” when I’m feeling distracted, sidetracked or overly anxious. I have a tendency to crave downtime a lot. But when I get it, I have a tendency to want to fill it up again. I also have a habit of constantly wanting to see around corners and predict the future. This is one of the things that comes with sitting on a comma for me. If I’m not actively involved in the planning or execution of my projects and pursuits, I get antsy and frustrated really quick. This leads to anguish, worrying about the future and catastraphizing. The cards reminded me how important it is to tend to the “mundane” when I’m in these states (and even when not). This means that, while the pot is simmering and waiting to boil, or while the cake is baking, I need to focus on the routine chores as a way to keep me from watching the pot or opening the oven. I need to “do the chores” and leave things to cook. I often find myself scrolling social media, reworking my todo lists, cleaning up my calendars, making notes, coming up with new ideas, and sometimes running in circles… all in the hopes that I will somehow get things ready or start some new project. Instead, I need to take care of the routine things. Wash the dishes. Clean the closets. Take out the trash. Wash the car. And so on… There’s never a shortage of chores to be done. Hell, even if all the chores are done, the point is that I shift my attention to mundane things and LET THE BIG STUFF UNFOLD ON ITS OWN. I laughed out loud when I realized what this meant. “Oh, so what you’re saying is that even if I’ve already taken a shower, go take another one! It’s not about the shower, it’s about getting out of the kitchen.” This was mind blowing to me. So, chopping wood is my medicine and it looks like 2025 is going to be a year of chopping wood for me.

Question for you: What does chopping wood mean to you? What wood should you be chopping, in order to get your mind off of the big things?

Here’s What’s Next:

I will continue to stay in Atlanta for the remainder of January.

I’ve confirmed a work trip to Northern California in the first half of February. While there, I will take care of the dentist and some other appointments. I will also make attempts to visit friends. If you’re reading this from the Sacramento area, I hope to see you! If I don’t get to, it’s only because of the short trip and timing, but I’ll reach out.

I’m looking forward to a short road trip to Charlotte, NC to visit a newer friend of mine in mid-January.

I’m looking forward to traveling to Savannah, GA with my friend here and the dog you’ve seen in photos, Bella. That’s the first weekend in February.

After I return from NorCal, I’ll be heading down to Florida to spend some time with a variety of friends and colleagues who live there.

After Florida, I’ll have some open time to decide what’s next. I’m open to recommendations and ideas. I would love to get over to the UK and visit friends there, as well as Mexico.

Of course, I’m always open to opportunities to travel to new places internationally.

Folks in the northern US and Canada, I’ll be heading your way when your weather warms up in the Spring and Summer.

Meanwhile, I hope you all have a prosperous start to your New Year. I wish you all safe keeping, kindness and health. This year may likely bring more turmoil. I have committed to myself that I am not going to wait for the year “bring me” anything. I am going to focus on my own intentions and just respond to what the year brings, as it comes.

As one of the Tarot cards I recently was presented said to me, I’m going to “chop wood” this year. 😉

As always, please interact with this post. I love getting your questions, your thoughts, and your comments. I’ll reply when I’m able.

Please enjoy yourselves in this week ahead and look for another update from me next weekend, or later, if I get caught up in the adventures of the journey. Be well my friends!

Want to hear other people’s stories about getting off their commas? Check out the podcast!

Are you sitting on a comma? Let’s talk! As an ICF certified professional Coach, I work with all kinds of people who are sitting on a comma and looking to find their next steps to get moving again. If this is you, let’s talk about your comma. Book a session and let’s get started. Or, if you’re not quite ready, you can book a short inquiry call and we can talk about it first. Both have high value for you!