Category Archives: personal

I will begin this edition of Monday Middle-aged Musings by admitting that I am NOT what some people would call a successful woman.  Ooh, I just realized I could write an entire blog post about what constitutes success.  I’ll save that idea for another time.  However, today I received from my sister Diane a card reading, “11 Habits of Successful Women,” and I would like to talk about that.

Somebody sent Diane the card.  She wrote me that she does not have nor does she aspire to have all the qualities listed, so she thought she would pass the card along to me.  She invited me to pass it on to someone else.  I am still debating who I should send it to.  While I ponder that, I thought it would make a dandy blog post to note which of the habits I practice or would like to.

1. She makes time for herself.  Hmmm…. I don’t know that I do that.  I certainly TAKE time for myself once in a while, most notably by sitting on the couch crocheting and watching a true crime show.  What I ought to do is make more time for cleaning my house, but I see that is not on the list at all.  That makes this a pretty good list in my estimation.
2. She challenges herself with ambitious goals.  I ran the Boilermaker 15K, and I am writing a novel.  I’m going to count this habit as a “yes” for me.
3. She educates herself and constantly improves.  Well, I read books, including a lot of history.  I would like to learn more, like a second language or sign language or how to play harmonica.  Let’s count this a a partial “yes.”
4. She takes responsibility for every area of her life.  OK, does it count as not taking responsibility when you sit on the couch and say, “Honey, would you get me more wine?”  Because if so, then, no, I do not take responsibility for every area of my life.
5. She smiles… a lot.  Oh, I do.  I smile at everybody all day at work, sometimes making a very silly grin.  It either makes them smile back, or it makes them wonder what I am up to.  And I smile at strangers in the supermarket, especially when I apologize for blocking the aisle with my cart when I am pondering grocery choices.
6. She is financially savvy.  Not in the slightest degree.
7. She has a life outside her job.  Obviously I do.  Otherwise, what would I blog about?
8. She always keeps her promises.  I like to think I do, although it cannot be denied that shit happens.
9. She is positive and enthusiastic.  Sometimes.  I think it would be annoying to be that way all time time, but I guess I couldn’t really say, because I have never encountered anybody who is.
10. She celebrates wins, both big and small.  Oh, I do this.  Sometimes I celebrate when there isn’t anything to celebrate.  I like to celebrate.
11. She helps others through selfless acts of kindness.  I don’t know about that, but I do donate the occasional afghan to a worthy cause.

So, I count four qualified “yeses,” five partial “yeses,” one “I guess not,” and one unqualified “no.”  How do you score?  Feel free to lie.  We’ll call it fiction.