My Summer Project

It's me.

I like to set a goal for the summer.  Last year, it was my daughter's wedding.  Sometimes, it is deeply cleaning my house.  I tried that once and then got diverted by a family crisis... which then became my summer project.  Sometimes I set a goal of how many non-educational, non-mathematical books I want to read.

I had not really set a goal this summer, so it kind of fell in my lap, smiled, and said, "Here I am.  Take care of me and nurture me.  I'll be here the rest of your life."  Here is what happened.

A family member made a decision to take care of herself - the work is hard.  She became very public about her personal war and she is now starting to win some battles.  I'm proud of her.  I remembered I had done something similar, then hit a bit bump in the road and didn't manage to stay on track.  Having an autoimmune disease that affect metabolism is that bump and being under-medicated causes fatigue and weight gain no matter how much work you do.

Now, I eat well.  Very well.  But I haven't been very active.  Even when I lost 50 pounds in 2008-2009, I mainly did it by diet and didn't do a lot of activity.  So, I saw her becoming active and thought to myself, "I can do that", but didn't.  But what I eat is on track - I did Weight Watchers before and it taught me what to do and what not to do.

In June we went to San Antonio.  While my husband sat in conferences in air-conditioned comfort, my son and I went on walking tours.  Ya'll - San Antonio in June is really, really hot.  Like 90's with a heat index of over 100 hot.  HOT.  But we love history so off we went.  Some time during that week, after going to Dallas and Texarkana, I knew I needed to get up and move.  Oh... here's what happened before.  I realized around late April/May that my feet and ankles hurt much more after long periods of sitting, so I started getting up more and stretching and walking.  Helps so much.

Since about June 18 or 19 (I had to reset my tracker and lost some data) I have only missed one day of walking a minimum of 10,000 steps.  I use Leslie Sansone's Walk At Home videos (I love AC, ok?) which doesn't just walk.  Kicks, side steps, knee lifts and upper body movements, sometimes with light weights, use the whole body.  I already put in 2 miles today and my quads are not happy... but I am because I can tell a difference in my clothes, a little bit on the scale, and a whole lot with my energy level.  I feel great.

Here's my main motivation besides pleasing God by taking care of the body He gave me; family.  My grandmother was diabetic.  My mother was diabetic.  Both had congestive heart failure.  My mother had a hypothyroidism diagnosis and quit treatment in the 70's.  Both were obese.  My sister died at the age of 44 due to obesity - super morbidly obese.  Her heart just stopped.  She was probably also hypothyroid and was a compulsive over-eater.   I loved these women but I refused to give up and say, "oh, it's genetic."  Maybe that's true but I can DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.  And I have for years.

My future family is what I look forward to.  With both of my children being adults, I am looking forward to being a grandmother someday.  I want to play with those children.  I want to be around to see their weddings. I want to sing with them, horseplay, and cuddle them to sleep.  My children didn't have that - for a variety of reasons.

Since I have started this phase of life, I have also read my Bible daily.

Here's where the real challenge will lie: when school starts back my leisurely days are over.  It will be hectic at first and I'll get used to the pace.  But, I have decided to start my work schedule July 18 after our vacation - at least by the clock. 5:30 alarms will resume and I'll be on my school schedule, trying to figure out how to make the 10,000 steps fit.  I know I can do it.  I've done it before.  I've just decided to face it head-on and anticipate what's to come.

So, here it is.  All laid out for you in the name of accountability and transparency.