Our youngest once had a teacher in Elementary school who, at the end of each day, would say to the kids "make good choices". It not only stuck with him, it stuck with me. He was in Martial Arts at the time. So was her daughter. His teacher was close to my age and in excellent shape. I remember she would come in to the classes after running to pick up her daughter. She would always smile and say hi. I'll admit I was envious. She was in great shape. This was a time in my life that I might have looked okay, but I felt like a porcelain doll, small and fragile. At a minimum, it was a bad time for my migraines and I was consistently throwing my back out. I needed a change.
During this time, our son chose to participate in the charity board breaking drives to raise money for victims of the Southwest Asia Tsunami and later Hurricane Katrina. During the Katrina fund raiser, his instructor came over to me with two one inch boards. He said, "you will break these." I looked behind me. Surely there was a student standing there. There wasn't. He said it again. "You can. Just do it. Focus on seeing your hand on the other side. Do not hesitate. Hesitation will only hurt. Focus and follow through." Somehow, at that point, I knew I could do it. Maybe I just needed someone to tell me I could. Maybe I just needed someone to look at me and not see the word "disabled" printed on my forehead but instead to see the stronger warrior me. I made the choice to take a chance, say yes to this amateur attempt at board breaking. And you know what? I broke both those 2 inch boards. My hand was slightly red but it didn't really hurt like I imagined it would. Then he turned to my husband with 4 one inch boards. "You will break these." And with no hesitation, he did. That day, I learned two valuable lessons. One, nothing is impossible with a little focus and follow through, and two, everything it built upon your choices. That was a long time ago, but it still holds true today.
Last night, just as he was leaving to come home from work, my husband called. He wanted to know if we wanted to go out for dinner. I initially said yes, but as usual our youngest didn't want to go out. Thinking about it, I really didn't want to go out either. Before long, my husband was snacking (he's a snacker), "Want to order Chinese?" I started thinking about the idea of ordering Chinese food. Ordering take out seemed like an easy way out. After all, we had plenty of food here in the house. And did I really want Chinese?
Just a couple of days ago, my husband made the comment that we needed to eat the shrimp that was in the freezer. So, I persuaded him tonight was a perfect time for a shrimp and veggie night. We experimented a little. We tossed the shrimp in with green peppers and sliced pineapple. He added a touch of pepper and Teriyaki sauce for flavor. Then, he grilled. Men love to grill. I don't know if its being outdoors or just the ultimate feeling of control, but they love getting out of the kitchen, being the "Master of the Grill". I made it a point to make myself scarce when he is out there. Like any other man activity, grilling affords the man of the house time to reflect on life, or just being a man. Its one of his calming activities. And luckily for us, grilling food is a healthy option. Combined with the microwavable steam fresh veggie pack (broccoli, cauliflower, and sliced carrots), our entire meal was less than 200 calories...that is until we added the glass of Cabernet. :) I think we made good choices.
Later in the evening, we had tea and together watched "Paul" on demand. Very funny. If laughter is good medicine, then I'm thinking maybe we should buy this movie. It will keep us healthy.
I also had a 10 calorie Jello with a 15 calorie serving size of whipped cream.
I went up to read, had a good night's sleep (nearly 8 hours), then woke refreshed and ready to work out. I walked the neighborhood today, four miles, then came home to a quiet house. My husband had left already. Our son was asleep. It was only 0830hrs. I went downstairs to complete my workout. I did what I usually do, but I took it easy. It had been cool and moist outside today. Each of my knees had given out at least once (arthritis bites), and my recovering foot injury felt a bit like a rock in my shoe. I guess sometimes I have to remind myself that I am in fact a bit damaged. One step at a time, right?
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