Health Trek Day 28

I have a confession to make. I like to play cards, but just don't seem to get together with friends like I used to. Everyone has such busy lives nowadays and our entertainment is the boob tube that we are all glued to most of our free time. So I play Hearts on my computer each morning and have really gotten to know my computer adversaries. My game strategy is to go after the Black Queen of Spades. If I get her dealt to me, I usually keep her so I know right where she is and I can get rid of her at the first opportunity. You have to short suit yourself so when someone plays a suit you don't have, wham! You lay the Queen of spades on 'em. Ouch! I face Life the same way. If there is a problem in my life, I lay it right out there where I can see it. I check all my options and figure the best way to get rid of the problem then wham! Do what has to be done. I have been pretty successful most of my life treating the bumps in Life's road in this manner. Sometimes you get a bump you can't smooth out and you have to ride with it for awhile. That's when you get your support group to come along and help. I guess losing weight is like that. It's not a bump I've been able to just jump over and move on. It keeps following me or dragging me with it. I have my totes of clothes I keep hoping to fit into and my totes of clothes I don't dare throw away because I might get back up there again! So how do I get over this bump. I think back to when we were kids and how many times the only thing we had to eat in the house was the tomatoes my mother canned (I always wondered why they called it canning, when she put them in all those glass jars??). She would buy day old bread and fill the freezer. Get damaged vegetables from the local farmers in exchange for the homemade wine that she made and spend all Fall canning in her spare time. I used to get to cut all the bad spots from the veggies. Anyway, sometimes all we had to eat were the canned goods and bread and butter. There were seven of us kids, 6 boys and me the only girl. My Mom worked as a waitress, and sometimes she would scrape the leftover steak off of peoples plates that her customers didn't finish and bring it home. She told her boss she was bringing it home to feed the dog, but she actually would make it into stew to feed us hungry kids. So when I overeat now, I know I am not doing it for all the kids in China or the starving children in Europe, I am doing it for that little kid inside of me that used to fantasize about having a whole steak to herself. When I shop I buy more than I need because I can't stand to have the cupboards bare. I cook as if I still had to feed those seven children, so always have leftovers in the fridge. So this morning I decided it is time to face the Queen of Spades and acknowledge that I do not have to feed the child any longer. I need to love her and cherish her and let her know that she is valued in this life and needs to take care of herself.
I picked up my Grandson from school yesterday and when he saw me he was walking with his teacher. His face lit up and he pronounced, "That's my Nana!" Later my friend Gwen and I took him to buy a Happy Meal, and Ben looked at her very seriously and said, Do you have a Grandfather? When Gwen said no, Ben said, "I have a very nice grandfather." This made me realize how important we are. I need to be here to see that little fellow grow up and help make some very special memories with him. So today I say goodbye to the ghost of the Child I was, and hello to the vibrant, healthy Grandmother I want to be for Ben!

Our camper is packed, we are headed out at first light tomorrow morning to start another adventure on the road. I will be thinking about the BLOG and taking some notes to talk about when i get back. Expect my next one to be on or about the 28Th of October. In the meantime, everyone,
ROCK ON!
Today's poem is dedicated to Ben, my youngest grandchild (5 years old)

A Face In The Window
Every time I drive away
After a day of fun and play,
I see your face pressed to the pane,
And wish that I could just remain.
I wish that I could stay the age I am,
So I could see you become a man
I fear that when you're big and tall,
I won't be on this earth at all.
Will you remember angels in the snow?
Watching the birds fly high and low?
Will you recall swimming in the lake,
Four candles on your birthday cake?
The walks we took with your hand in mine
are etched in memory for all time.
But you are so young my lovely boy
Time will erase your childish joy
When you bounce your child upon your knee
Will there be a fleeting thought of me?
And when you tuck him into bed,
Will you tell him the stories we once read?
I love you now, and I will love you then.
Once I leave the world of Men,
I will see you from afar
And be your Angel, your shining star!

Love to Benjamin from Nana
January 7, 2008

Plan for today:
Breakfast: Tea and plain doughnut, cup of fruit
Snack: jello
Lunch: chicken soup
Snack: apple and cheese
Dinner: Refrigerator leftovers (We are getting rid of all the stuff so we can leave for a week)
Kitchen still closing at seven!

Exercises: Walking DVD; Mr. G's list; Yoga
Have a wonderful, healthy, week.