Let's Get Ready To Rumble!

Okay, in case you didn't know this, I'm a slacker. It's been a while, since I have added anything to this. Maybe I hit a rut or perhaps I was just being lazy. It's time to get caught up and to get things rolling, again.

The last month has been a whirlwind. I have moved from Nashville, back home to Alabama. It was not an easy decision and the transition has been a little bumpy, but it could have been worse. All things considered, it just seemed like the thing to do. I had been away for over ten years. I enjoyed Nashville and had convinced myself that I was close enough to friends and the family that I left behind to be able to hop in the car and take a trip to visit for a the weekend any time that I wanted. However, life happens and there are always things to do and it became routine to think, I'll do it next weekend. "Next weekend" seemed to come around only a few times each year. That was not good. Other circumstances played a part in this decision and after the move, I started to see that there were other factors that I did not even know about that confirmed that this was the best option.

My work with the fire department was great. I miss that. I was pushing myself to do things that I had never thought I was capable of and felt good about the things I was doing, the service I was helping to provide and the choices that I was making. I miss the friends to whom I had gotten close, but I know that those friendships can and will continue, though I am not as close to them, geographically.

The family is doing well, but they are not the same people that I had left, ten years ago. They are every bit as caring, loving and supportive as they have always been, but time, age and life has shown that things change and all we can do is go with those changes and we, as well as all of those around us must adapt with those changes and keep going. After moving back, I became more aware of this than ever. It would have been very difficult for me to deal with the fact that waiting on "next weekend" may have been an error in judgment and could have taken away the quality time to be able to spend with family and friends. That level of regret would have been hard to live with. I am happy that I do not have to go through that, now.

One of the first things I did, after moving back, was to go see a friend of mine. He and I had gone to high school together and played music together for many years. He is doing well. He got married, before I moved to Nashville. Married life was good to him and, as can be expected, he put on a few pounds. Recently, he has been working on taking them off and has done very well. I am proud of him.

I went to see him play with his band and it was the first time I had seen him in several years. He looked good. I could tell that he was happy with his results and when he saw me and saw my own transformation, he was a little deflated. Don't get me wrong, he was happy for me and proud of me and of my own accomplishments. It was kind of funny. When we saw each other, we shook hands and hugged (it was a manly hug with lots of forceful back slapping...that is an approved man-hug...I'm hugging you, but I'm hitting you, too.) He just looked at me and said, "Okay, you win."

Since then, I've been trying to maintain this, but I have slipped a bit. My mom seems to think that she needs to make up for the last ten years of not being able to cook for me. I feel guilty every time I sit down at a table that is filled with deep-fried, buttery, starchy, high carb, higher fat platters of motherly love. It's my mom, though. I had to take one for the team. I have taken a few too many, though.

The first week I was back, I gained 5 pounds. I started running and worked myself up to about 3 miles a day. I had gotten myself back to "fighting weight", but I have slacked off, again. Not good.

I wanted to find a job and get myself into a stable routine with that and then go forth and pursue my initial goal of getting involved as a firefighter with a department in or close to my new home. Phase 1 of that is complete. I am working for a pharmaceutical company and I think I will enjoy it. Now, it time to really get to work. Phase 2 begins, today.

This morning, I took my (now 11 pound heavier) butt to the grocery store and filled my buggy with baby spinach, fat free yogurt, chicken breasts, protein bars, string cheese and (ugh, it pains me to say this...) cottage cheese. Later, today, I will restart the first 30-day level of P90X.

The most difficult part of this is going to be the Mom Factor. She means well and I know it is all done with love, but I also know that I am going to have to be very careful, knowing that hurting her feelings will be unavoidable when I tell her that I can't eat her triple layer, death-by-chocolate cake after declining to eat her culinary offerings where butter is not just a seasoning or a condiment...in many cases, it's a side-dish.

Mom, I love you. Just keep that in mind.