By LIZ MARCHI
The best laugh I got from New Year’s greeting yesterday was Happy 2018, may you look 20 and feel 18. For a second, that sounds like a good thing but not for me. I have too much invested in living, learning and wisdom for that. I am going to be 64 in a few weeks and am going forward in life with a daily reminder to live in the present, knowing full well that the dial is well passed halfway.
I have had easier years than 2017. The last year has had moments of great joy like the birth of William Paul in November, the marriage of my Godchild in October and wonderful travel with Jon. 2017 held some great hurts from family changes, medical diagnosis and the loss of friends and mentors. I still cry every time I think about losing Valinda Stevens, former CEO at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. I deeply admire people, and especially women, with great passion who fight great fights for noble and purposeful causes that makes lives better. She fought for excellent health care in rural markets until the day she died. She made a tremendous difference.
A Very Good Life.
2018 for me will be a year of seeking to do small things well. Doing a better job tending to my calendar, continuing to repeat often and daily that health is wealth, eat well, sleep, exercise, breathe deeply, self-care, slow down and weigh EVERY DAY. Continue to say no to things that infringe on the necessary time needed to care for self, family, friends and home. Burning the candle at both ends is OVER.
I am starting the year off with a smile for having lost 20 pounds over the last 6 months, 9 more and I will be at my high school weight. Small goals. The world will only be saved if we work together.
Don’t’ be fooled, I am just as passionate about causes as ever; the love of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial thinking, the love of Montana and especially the young people of great promise, talent and ambition. Jon and I try to spend as much time as we can with our children and other young Montanans. They make us much more hopeful for the future. It’s not moving on, it’s assuming a different role as encourager, mentor, friend and supporter. Both of us are still working but my Wonder Woman outfit is the clearly out of style.
Change. It is constant. May you each for the change that enables your world to grow and bloom abundantly in 2018.
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Liz Marchi lives on a ranch in Polson, Montana with her husband Jon. She is the Fund Coordinator for the Frontier Angel Fund and spends a lot of time thinking and learning about entrepreneurs, the economy and Montana’s unique place in the world. She has three daughters and a stepson and daughter and a grandchild. She graduated from Hollins College and is entering the final quarter of life…unless we go into overtime.