A Day Without Treats. Cuz Something's Gotta Give And It May Be My Pants!

Warning.  This Post Contains Graphic Material That May Be Disturbing To Sensitive Viewers.

I don't know about you, but in our house, there's a year-long parade of sweets.  The official kick-off of the candyland festivities is Halloween - the big kahuna of all things delicious.  Of course, it's preceded by a pre-season schedule of birthday celebrations in summer and early fall with plenty of cake (homemade of course) and ice cream ("Moose Tracks anyone?").  Then another birthday in November, followed by the grand-daddy of all eat-fests - you know the one - Thanksgiving.  Christmas treats start arriving in early December, and keep me chomping all month long.  A brief reprieve in January is thankfully broken by the heartfelt sugary sweets of Valentine's Day.  In addition to green beer, there are chocolaty gold coins on St. Patrick's Day.  A basket at Easter with enough candy to feed small family for a month means I'm sneaking snacks throughout spring, until the whole process repeats itself.  Call it, The Seasons of My Sweet Weakness.

And you noticed I mentioned beer right?  Right.  I like beer.  It's delicious and there are so many varieties to sample.  How can you possibly say no?  I know there's a few calories in beer, but really, it can't be that much right?  It's mostly water after all.  I mean, I've made beer.  It takes a lot of water.  (Does the fact that I've made beer indicate that I may be a bit too obsessed with the topic?  How about the fact that I'm pretty sure I've even written a post about how much I love beer before?  Oh, and  wrote one about how much I love M&Ms too.  Are you seeing a pattern here?).

So here's the deal.  I'm getting (gotten!) fat.  Those of you who know me will say things like "Oh no.  Look at you!  You look so thin."  That's nice.  But here's my dirty little secret:

I hide it well.

It's there - hidden from the naked eye - you just need to know how to look for it.  Much like the many rings of Saturn are only revealed through a high-powered telescope, the many molecules of sweets and beer form a layer of rings around my waist that are only revealed by.... a camera-phone.

Brace yourself!  Small children and those with weak constitutions should look away!

Good Lord! What IS That?!

Yowza.  That's nasty.  And hairy.  Yeah, so I don't subscribe to the body-shaving the young dudes do.  I'm a middle-aged man after all.

Hopefully by now you've been able to compose yourself and recover from the shock of this revolting image.  But that's me.  All me.  All. Of. Me.

So now what?  Well, I've got choices.  A couple weeks ago I posted about "The first day of the rest of your life."  Looking at that image reminds me, I need to take my own advice.  I mean, seriously, back in 2007, the first time I did Team In Training, I used to look like this:

"Hello ladies."

Well, ok.  Maybe not exactly like this.  But I was about 20 pounds lighter, a whole lot fitter, and I had many fewer rings orbiting my mid-section.

So, what's my point?  It's this.  We all go through ups and downs, good and bad, highs and lows, hots and colds, broccoli and chocolate, gatorade and pale ale.  That's cool.  Sometimes you just need a little friendly reminder to get your lazy butt off the couch and get out there and do something.  Ya know I mean?

So, here's what I did.  I went a whole day without any treats.  Yep, no candy, no cake, not even beer (see, that's why I titled this post "A day without treats."  You were wondering weren't you.  It's ok.  I know I get sidetracked.  Like this one time when I was cleaning out the garage, and I came across our t-ball set and the girls wanted to play so then we started a t-ball game, and then we thought it would be fun to add a soccer ball, and then...oh, yeah.  Anyway).

Next up - an entire week of no treats.  It's gonna be tough.  Think I can do it?  It's only seven days.  I think I can handle it. But first, I gotta drink all the beer in the house.  Gotta eliminate the temptation right?

Quick Post to Gabrielle Giffords Clips

Here's the quick post to the clips. Take a listen to the full report at NPR or there's a video clip at ABCNews.  Here are some thoughts on the matter.

Cool Person of the Week - Gabrielle Giffords

The week before last we heard all about what happens when hero worship, authority and ambition all go horribly wrong.  It was depressing, and it reminded me that we often over-value achievements of athletics and celebrity.  Look, I love sports.  And I love my University sports.  And I hero-worshiped our football coach.  So I get it.  But clearly, our worship is not always well-placed.  In fact, the news just gets more depressing, but in a whole new way as the media report that the Penn State "brand" has been damaged as evidenced by a 40% drop in merchandise sales.  Seriously?  Merchandise sales?  People's lives were ruined and we're talking about how many jersies they sold?  Ugh.

So it was nice to hear a different story about someone who was making truly remarkable achievements.  It's not hard to be impressed by the story of Gabriell Giffords, so it's not like I've found some unsung hero that society has over-looked.  Her story is pretty well known.  But what struck me was this story I heard on NPR last week.  About how hard she was working to recovery from the gunshot injury.  And I was totally blown away that someone could put forth that much effort.  There are days when I get frustrated and bogged down by obstacles in my life.  But man, they are no comparison to what this woman is up against.  She reads the last chapter of her book in which she says, in part, "Long ways to go. Grateful to survive. It's frustrating, mentally hard, hard work. I'm trying, trying so hard to get better. I will get stronger. I will return.”  It's incredible to hear.  A great effort being made - no self-pity - just effort.  Take a listen to the full report at NPR or there's a video clip at ABCNews.

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

That's an expression we've all heard.  I was thinking about it today.  When I think of that expression,  I assume that it's usually associated with someone who is facing a significant change in their life.  Maybe they're faced with some significant problem or issue, and they need to confront it head on.  Maybe the life they've lived in the past is not how they want to live in the future.  Maybe they're facing the prospect of a difficult disease.

All are valid and likely scenarios.  But then I wonder, have I set the bar too high?  Have I made it out in my mind that I'd have to be facing some dramatic situation in life in order to adopt this point-of-view.  And if I have, am I copping out?  Am I avoiding making simple, but necessary changes in my life?  The answer is, probably.  There are a number of improvements I could be making in my life - health, parenting, bad habits (Diet Coke - hello?).  But I don't HAVE to make any changes.  I haven't been confronted with circumstances that absolutely require that I make some life changes.  Nope, for me it's entirely voluntary.

So, does that mean I've gotten to a point where I've just accepted certain things in my life, and I'm unwilling to make the effort to change them?  Perhaps.  Which brings me back to the original thought - The First Day of the Rest of Your Life.  The more I've thought about it, the more I realize that any day, every day can be that day.  Carpe Diem and all that right?

Just four years ago I had made some real improvements in my health and fitness.  Today, I've completely lost those healthy habits, and I'm in worse shape then ever before.  So, I've decided, today can be the first day of the rest of my life.  I don't need some cataclysmic event to motivate me to change.  I just need me to motivate me to change.

Maybe you're in a similar situation. There's some change you've been wanting to make. It's not like a LIFE change.  It's just something you've been contemplating, and putting off because there's really no imperative to make the change.  Well, today is the first day of the rest of your life!  Think about that... It's freeing.  The first day.  There's no expectation.  It's just the first day.  You can't fail. It's only the first day.  No matter how small the change is that you make, it's still a great change because it's the first day. 

Let's get started!

About this Blog

It's a random assortment of thoughts and musings. I'm not a writer, so the actual "writing" may not always be of the highest quality. It's an opportunity for me to share some things that I'd like others to know about. Like fighting diseases I hate (cancer; Parkinson's disease). To hopefully inspire others to join me in the fight. Share some of my own experiences, struggles and accomplishments in a way others can relate to. And occasionally to the art and science of parenting (btw, I'm always open to suggestions here).

Hopefully you enjoy it; maybe we'll connect. Maybe even help change the world. Who knows what's possible?