slow and steady

On February 4, 2011 I stepped on the bathroom scale and discovered a shocking reality.  Fast fatty food and little, if any, exercise causes weight gain. Imagine that! So I made a decision to lose weight and build strength and fitness.  I have lost 24 pounds, several inches and working on a plan to run a 5K in 3 weeks.  I have been averaging 1.5 lbs per week for almost 4 months.

From reading on the Internet I discovering several "trackers." I have documented this journey by measuring the foods I eat, water I drink and exercise I get on a daily basis.  I have also altered the foods I eat.  There have been relapses and I have not sworn off fast food entirely. But I try to make sure that I still hit my set goals for the day...most days!


For me a good deterrent for eating some foods is looking at the calories in the food.  I then translate those calories in my mind to how many minutes it will require me on the treadmill or elliptical training to burn those calories off.  Example: Burger King Whopper is about 660 calories.  At 10 calories per minute on the treadmill or elliptical, I will need to be exercising for 66 minutes!!!


While I like that taste of many fruits, I just didn't choose them when picking what to eat.  Now I'm consuming Cantaloupe, Bananas and Apples to fill me in between or with meals.  I've increased my water consumption dramatically to almost 8-8 oz glasses of water a day. 


I certainly don't have it figured out and as I mentioned there are times when the Frito's find their way into my shopping cart, into my home and into my mouth.  But I like the way I feel and I don't stretch out my clothes the way I used to! Nice!

I have learned that "tracking" is like accountability.  I need it in my life.  It helps me count the cost of my decisions. Relapse can take place in any journey of change.  Let me remember how I feel when I am pursuing health in all areas of life including my relationship with God. 

expectations

I struggled with expectations going unmet.  I expected someone to act or behave in a certain way and they didn't.  It frustrated me.  When repeated, disappointment and anger followed my frustrations.  I asked my daughter what the Big Book said about expectations and she quickly replied, "expectations are premeditated resentments." I agree.

sandwich continued

I am sandwiched between my 10 week premature granddaughter and my nearly 92 year old father in law. She is growing stronger each day and he is struggling to regain strength lost. Joy and Sadness are my companions at the same time.

sandwich

I grew up eating sandwiches.  I carried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with me to school almost everyday for the first 6 years!  I still like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

But I heard of the word "sandwich" being used in another way.  It refers to a generation that is caring for children and aging parents at the same time. 

It's like Dad and Mom are the peanut butter and jelly.  (I think I would be the peanut butter and Dena would be the jelly...she is more soft and oozy)

Our kids (Michael and Becky in this case) would be the bottom layer of bread.  Dena's father would be the top layer of bread. (our elders deserve our respect and so of course the top piece of bread is only fitting)

Notice how the peanut butter and jelly start to spill over and out the edges of the sandwich.  That's cause someone applies pressure to the two slices of bread and Dad and Mom both start to ooze out and down.  Not UP but down like on the kids.  Is there symbolism there....I don't know I just like the ooze of peanut butter and jelly!! 

NOTE: Our children are not "children" any longer.  They are grown and independent adults.  They are all in their 20's at various second digits. However, we do have an aging parent living in our home.

The term sandwich crossed my mind out of two needs that have recently surfaced and their timing.  A new baby has been born 8 weeks premature to our son and his wife and Dena's elderly father has fallen down.  Both (the baby and father) are in the hospital for special care.  Both took place less than 24 hrs. apart.  Both (our son and wife and Dena's father) need our help at this time but the distance between them is about 550 miles.

I think Dena feels this "sandwich" more than I do.  She is a mother with a mother's heart and a grandmother's heart. This heart is full!  She loves being a mother and grandmother and wants to be with them! She is also the daughter of a wonderful and loving father who adores her and whom she adores.  She wants to be with him too.


So she is sandwiched between two needs and cannot meet the needs of both because of distance.  And so "sandwich" takes on another meaning like in "sandwich spread!"  We will spread ourselves and try to care for both needs the best we can.


With all this talk of food I'm suddenly hungry and it's almost lunch time...I think I'll go make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

and changes again!

Wednesday afternoon we take Avery to see Mom and Dad at the hospital.  I mention we should give Dena's father a call to check on him.  I was angry because of a phone conversation I had with him Tuesday evening. Her father insisted our friends NOT check up on him by calls or visits, "it makes me uncomfortable" were his words. 

He is 91 years old!  Still very independent, prepares his own breakfast, drives his big buick each day to go out for lunch and a few groceries and exercises by walking thousands of steps.  He lives with us so if we leave town or called out for emergencies we leave him alone but talk with friends and neighbors to please keep an eye on him.

Things got going and we didn't call Dena's father.  About 6:30 p.m. our neighbor calls Dena explaining that she went to see if he wanted some food but nobody came to the door but our barking dog.  I phoned the house repeatedly over the next 45 min but no answer but the answering machine.  This is not right I thought.  We called the neighbor back and gave them access to the house.  They found Dena's father lying on the bathroom floor bloody and unable to get himself up.  He had fallen about 6 a.m. that morning and laid there for 13 hours before help arrived!!

We had the neighbor call 911 to get an ambulance to take him to the hospital.  I left SC about 3:30 a.m. Thursday morning to drive back home.  Fortunately, just his elbows were bloody from trying to get up or crawl on the bathroom floor.  No broken bones, all vital signs good!  However, he is extremely weak and unable to stand, feed or take care of himself.

OK, things change!  I have trouble with the timing and usually the money often tied into such things.  These are two resources that are limited.  BUT...

I am deeply grateful that today, while not the circumstances we want, our family is being cared for on all fronts and we have a new granddaughter and a father in law alive and recovering!  I am also grateful for good, kind and trustful people in our lives like neighbors, friends and even bosses!

Tomorrow is not here and I cannot change the past. Can I accept today as a "present?"

life continues to change

It's Tuesday.  Dena and I are at Michael and Becky's home watching Avery our granddaughter.  The plan is to bring Avery up to the hospital for visits with Mom and Dad in the afternoon.  Becky's heart is hurting as she has never been away from Avery overnight and this has the potential of being MANY nights and lots of hours during the day that she would not be caring for her daughter.  Add the concern of this new baby attempting to arrive 8 weeks early!


Michael sends me a text telling us to wait to bring Avery up to the hospital as Becky is having contractions this morning. At 12:45 I get another text from Michael announcing the birth of their second daughter Haysley Lynn Yohe!  She weighed in at 2lbs 14.6 oz to be exact and is 15 in. long!  Wow, we did not see that coming!!  This young girl was determined to get out and start living! haha!


Michael's boss kindly offers to watch Avery while Dena and I go to Greenville to be with Michael, Becky and Haysley!  We arrive, meet up with Michael for all the details and to our shock get to go see Haysley in the NICU!

resurrection sunday and life changes!

We were eating lunch with Dena's father after celebrating our Lord's resurrection in worship.  Michael, our son, calls to tell us Becky, his wife, went into labor during church services in South Carolina.  She was not due until June 29th!  Becky was in the hospital but going to be transferred to Greenville where facilities are better equipped for this kind of emergency. 

The hope is to give her special drugs to keep her from delivering the baby.  If so, Becky would be in the hospital for 4-6 weeks!!  Michael and Becky also have a 15 month old girl at home.  If the drugs don't work and the baby is delivered the baby would be in the hospital 6-8 weeks! 

We rented a car Sunday evening and drove to South Carolina early Monday morning arriving in the afternoon.  The hospital in Greenville is very nice, modern and the staff caring.  Becky is OK, their toddler is in good hands and Michael's bosses have arranged for him to work from the hospital with a laptop.

As my son posted on his Facebook, "God is still God and God is good!"