Accomplishing a goal feels really great! I have completed the seven sea turtle paintings I set out to create. I have to say that it feels really good!

Whenever I accomplish a long-term goal, though, I sometimes have trouble coming up with what I want to do next. You notice I didn’t say “what I SHOULD do next?” I try not to “should” on myself too much. That’s a little joke I remember my old recovery group saying in years past. It is so easy to do, isn’t it? I used to go around telling myself “I should be doing this or that….” I still tend to do it from time to time, but not nearly as obsessively as in the past for sure. I am sure many of you can relate, especially if you are an artist or writer or just a person who likes to achieve goals. I am definitely not a “type A” personality by any means. Neither is my husband or either of my children. I don’t think I really grew up with any type A’s in my family either. So I think the obsessive-compulsive way I used to think was just leftover from growing up in chaos and alcoholism. A lot of it has fallen by the wayside in recent years, especially since I began doing art and getting back into writing. I have realized that the more I let my creative self grow, the less I tend to be a worry-wart. Creativity is truly a gift to me in this way.

I have some vague things in mind like drawing and painting tortoises or other small land turtles or maybe even switching to another marine creature like dolphins or crabs or something. As i said, I haven’t decided yet. If there is anything any of you, my blogging friends, like along these lines, let me know, and I will consider drawing and/or painting it!

I felt like I was dragging my feet a little on getting that last sea turtle done! Something a bit upsetting happened in our family recently which brought about a huge change for us. I am not ready to write about it and may never even feel the need to share it, but it has thrown me off kilter a tad. However, it and years past taught me a great deal about how to refuse to let others “should” on me, too! It is a good change for us, though. So I am looking forward to better and more challenging things in the future.