Health Trek Day 31

Friday again! Time seems to fly by so quickly these days. I have discovered that sitting around doing nothing all day doesn't slow it down. It just makes me more tense because I have the huge list of all the things I want to do in this life, and worry I won't have time to do it all. You probably have seen or heard of the movie, The Bucket List, well it is all the things you want to do before you kick the bucket. When you reach your sixties, I guess every day is a gift and we need to treat each day as if it was the only day we will have. This is not a morbid approach. It is living in the now. We spend most of our lives working and planning for the future, then all of a sudden we seem to run out of future before we have stopped to enjoy the moment we are in. Some of the things on my bucket list are writing a book and getting it published. Go to Alaska, Hawaii, and Europe. I especially want to see England and Norway as that is where my ancestors hail from. Other things I hope for is to see my children and grandchildren grow up, and to make some special memories with them that they can pass on to their kids. None of us want to be forgotten, and I hope to leave a trail of books behind that my great, great grandchildren can still collect royalties on. Some dream, hey? But we need the dreams and the motivations to keep us moving so we don't just sit and do crossword puzzles all day until we become one with the couch. This morning I dragged myself out of bed at 4:00 a.m. and went limping off to the gym. Why am I doing this, I asked myself, when I can lie in bed for another few hours! All of the above. Time gets shorter and shorter and my list gets longer and longer, so Now is the time to work on the goals that will get me there.
The scale and I compromised last night. I stayed exactly the same as two weeks ago when I left for vacation. I guess I'll take it. I did not gain even though we were eating things I don't ordinarily eat. I must have walked off the excess with the sight seeing we did. Now however it is time to get serious. November Inspiration is coming up, then Thanksgiving, Christmas and all the food events they entail! Let's get our plan books out and ROCK ON!
Poem today was one I wrote when a medical situation turned around and fooled the doctors:

Our Miracle
Miracles are only a myth, some might say
But many happen to us every day
The wonder of Spring as it bursts into bloom
A rainbow that chases away rainy gloom
We're often too busy to witness the sight
as a small bird spreads his wings and soars into flight
We take Life for granted and forget what is real
In a race to make money we forget how to feel
Till something happens to threaten our Fort
and make us all realize that Life is too short
It may be an illness or loss of a friend
That makes us remember all things must end
We pause then and ponder the worth of each day
The gifts that surround us should show us the way.
Sometimes a miracle can be so profound
It turns our safe little world upside down
Such a moment has brought us together tonight
As we celebrate the end of a very long fight
And toast the beginnings of so many tomorrows
We can cheerfully say goodbye to our sorrows
We have been blessed with a gift so sublime
More precious than jewels- we've been granted Time!
Time to make memories as we cherish the joy
You have brought to our family with the love you employ
Time to hear the music and stories you share
And maybe you'll hear some of ours if you dare
Soon we will welcome the fruit of your love
A small little angel sent down from above
So many miracles we are thankful for
And Time to celebrate so many more
We don't know the turns in the road that we tread
But believing in Miracles, we can face what's ahead.
JPH
2003

Plan for today:
Breakfast: 1 egg, toast, tea
Snack: apple
Lunch: salad
Snack: yogurt
Dinner: baked chicken, sweet potato, broccoli
Snack: ice cream bar

Exercise: Gym, 1 hour on bike and treadmill; Mr. G's list and evening Yoga.

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.