Getting to a better place...

It's been nearly a month since I last blogged. I think today I'll talk about dieting. Here's Fluffy's take on it...

It's been a challenge to try and lose weight with all the changes in my life. But I won't kid you... dieting has never been easy. Not for me.

The older I get the more important it seems to get this extra weight off. It used to be a vanity thing. I wanted to look better. I wanted my clothing to fit. I had this image in my mind, probably something right out of Hollywood, and I wanted so much to look like one of the beautiful people.

Now that I'm older it's gone way past looking good. I'll never look like one of the beautiful people because they are all younger than I am. But now it's a health issue. My weight has pushed me into a category with health risks. I'm taking pills to lower my blood pressure and cholesterol. Diabetes, which runs in my family, lurks around the corner. Carrying around the extra pounds makes everything I do so much more of an effort.

As Fluffy says, it's hard no matter what, so choose your hard.

I've used up more days on earth than days I have left on earth. If I'm ever going to do this, lose the weight, I need to do it now. I'm in the process of choosing a plan I can live with. No more on-again off-again diets for me with yo-yo affects to the weight. The dust's been blowing around and now what I'm settling in on is a livable, workable, doable plan of moderation. Just how "moderate" I need to get is up for debate. I'm attempting to learn to live with less on my plate, to get through the day without grazing, and to resist "medicating" or "tranquilizing" with food. Chocolate is not really my best friend.

I'm trying to believe that pain doesn't always have to be the enemy. An organization called O.A. has a saying, "Pain is the admission price to a new life."

They are referring to the discomfort we feel in being hungry, the mental agony from pushing away from the table when we aren't fully satisfied, the nail biting effects of resisting the temptation to munch away the afternoon. Jane Fonda used to put it, "No pain, no gain."

So there you have it. The window into my life today is all about getting to a better place. A place of better health. A place with more energy. A place where the clothes are a smaller number.

Chirps

Teddy bears and prickly pears

That phone call last summer was the beginning of a journey to places unknown.

Sometimes I feel
like I'm walking
on a desert path
on a moonless night
with no lantern
and no cell phone.

It's slow going, lest I stumble smack into a teddy bear cholla or a prickly pear cactus.

And then there's the eerie coyote howls off in the distance that send chills up and down my spine.

What will I do if a coyote crosses my path?

What if there are two?
What if three?

Do I wave my arms wildly and holler?

Do I run the other way?

Do I drop and play dead on the desert floor?

Who could I talk to who's been there, done that?

Can I Google it and come up with anything actually helpful?

There's a wonderful song by Ira Forest Stanphill that has become very close to my heart:

I don't know about tomorrow;
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine
For its skies may turn to grey.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said.
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand.

Not to say I've managed to implement everything from this song into my life, but it gives me goals - like trying not to worry about tomorrow, or like have confidence that He's always with me, and I'm not alone in this.

To be continued...

Sandwich, anyone?

One day last summer I got a phone call from a thousand miles away. Mom was in the hospital with congestive heart failure and a lung infection. The doctor said it would be good if we could come, so we packed the pick-up and headed north. Mom made it through that crisis and came home, but it became clear to us that my parents could no longer live on their own without help. We couldn't seem to solve the "help" issue, so the next possibility was to move them across the country to live with us. It took some arranging. We needed a bigger place, for example, not our small, two bedroom mobile home with one bathroom that was fine for two but terrible for four. Travel was another obstacle, since both of them were not well and very fragile. One by one, God worked miracles, and by Christmas we were a family of four in Arizona.

I've heard it called "the sandwich generation" - and our particular variety is the "open-faced" version. In February my daughter and grandchildren flew out for a visit. What a treat to have four generations under one roof - a fine example of a fancy deli sandwich with all the trimmings, the kind that you can barely get your mouth over. For one blissful week we got a glimpse into what is just the norm for families in countries like Mexico.

To be continued...

I'm back...

I owe today's post to my son-in-law. His blog had been dormant a number of months, and recently he found the inspiration to start it up again. He has a link on his page to "Fluffy Says." I clicked it this morning and said to myself, "Self, I think the time has come to re-open your blog." So thanks, Son.

I'm doing some rethinking about the goals of my blog for the remainder of 2009. My life has gone through some big changes. I think I'd like to write about it. I think I'd like to share it with others. Fluffy still strolls through my thoughts, purring, pointing to things of interest, and leaving an occasional fur ball. So I'll keep the title.

It's time to take my coffee to the porch to enjoy the coolness of the morning, since a couple of hours from now the Arizona heat will be very unpleasant. Until next time... Chirps

A note from Fluffy's Mom...

Lately I've been learning to handle the responsibilities of my parents coming to live with us. Mama needs a lot of my attention. Papa is facing some serious health issues. Since my family size has doubled I'm still trying to get used to the extra cooking, planning, cleaning, and family dynamics of four adults living under the same roof.

So for a time, dear as they are to me, my comics need to be put on hold. Forgive me if reading Fluffy Says is part of your daily routine. Fluffy will be back. I just need to catch my breath.

Thanks for your prayers. - Chirps

The Starfish Story

Do you have a treasure box?

They buried his clothes...

That Darn Cat