A Quiet Sunday Morning

Sunday, February 24, 2013

10:28 am

It's overcast here in my corner of Florida this morning. We may see a passing shower or two, but that won't keep the temperature from rising to 80-ish degrees, nor the humidity levels from causing us to break a sweat just by walking out the front door. This is the kind of day that makes me think, Oh crap. The oppressive summer is not far away. There is a bit of hope on my horizon though. After Tuesday, the temperature and humidity are supposed to start sliding downward toward a nice, cool weekend. Thanks be to God!

http://www.heluvagood.com

We had an unusual day yesterday. Our dear friends of more than 20 years, Dave and Linda, came over and spent the day with us. Our friend, Dave (DP) helped my Dave (DM) replace two exterior doors on our house, while Linda and I spent the day visiting and feeding our workmen. Since our friends were coming over to help, I wanted to make sure I did my part, so I prepared good food and lots of it. I saw my job as feeder of the laborers. I bought extra deli meat and cheese and nice Vienna rolls for sandwiches, and hearty kettle chips and Heluvagood (pronounced: hell-of-a-good) dip (my husband's favorite). I made my signature potato salad and tried a new recipe I found for peanut butter pie, made the way an Amish restaurant in Sarasota (http://yodersrestaurant.com/) makes it. And since our friends were to arrive in the morning, DM asked me to make blueberry scones to have with coffee before they started working. I was happy to oblige. I was a cooking and baking machine for the first 3 hours of my day yesterday.

One of my husband's favorites: blueberry scones.

After welcoming hugs all around, we sat together and shared coffee, scones, laughs, and conversation. I had my coffee with creamer (the one I have been significantly cutting back on) and the smallest scone on the plate, though still hefty enough to leave me feeling full. This was around 11:30  Then the menfolk got to work. By 2:00 the guys said they would be ready to take a break for lunch within about 30 minutes. Linda and I prepared the table for our midday meal, and once again, we ate. We stuffed ourselves on hearty, hefty sandwiches stuffed with deli-sliced roast beef, chicken breast, Genoa salami, sweet ham, garlic bologna, and baby Swiss or muenster cheese, potato salad, chips and dip. The men were naturally fuel depleted since they'd been actively working for hours in the heat and humidity. And after refueling, they went right back to work. Sometime around 4:30 they took a brief break to sit for a minute and have a piece of pie. Needless to say, Linda and I also had one despite the fact that our physical exertion had been fractional compared with theirs. I felt stuffed. Bloated. I'd eaten rich food throughout the day and done little if anything to burn it off. Finally after dark, the men had completed enough of the job to stop for the night; DM would finish anything left undone the next day (Sunday . . . today). But before our friends left to go home, the men each had another piece of pie and we all shared more laughs and conversation.

We two couples are close in age and we raised our kids, also close in age, together in our early years. We shared close kinship. After they moved back to Michigan seventeen years ago, we didn't get to see them as often or as easily as we had when they lived only a few miles away from us. But we stayed in touch and have enjoyed the kind of relationship that allows us to pick up where we left off whenever we're together. It has been a rich and enduring friendship, and we love them dearly. They have been such a blessing to our lives in so many ways. 

What's pie without whipped cream on top?

Linda loves to take pictures, and naturally yesterday gave her ample opportunity to snap bunches of them. She took lots of the men in various stages of their project and some of me with my baked goods. I have to admit that I was disappointed with the way I looked in them. In the midst of this weight loss journey, I have felt the positive effects of shedding pounds, but seeing the pictorial evidence, forced me to remember that it's only been a little over ten pounds so far since Christmas. I may feel different, but it will take  a lot more weight coming off before I will look different. Better. 

The finished product!

I won't, however, let this trip me up. I can't. That has been the pattern of my adult life. Get a good start, then something happens, like yesterday eating too much of the foods I shouldn't eat, or seeing the pictures of me and hearing the voices in my head say, See...it isn't working. You're still fat. You're a failure and you might as well give up. I need to put everything in perspective. I started this journey over one hundred pounds overweight. Losing ten pounds is a start, but certainly not the culmination. There will be days when my eating will not lead me toward my goal, but it doesn't have to turn into a feeding frenzy of uncontrolled gluttony. If I keep going, I will look like I want to look, even if I don't yet. I will savor the time spent with wonderful friends and get back to eating in a way that makes me feel healthy and light. One day does not spoil a whole journey. This is a lesson I am late in learning, but it is vital to my success. I have had far more days filled with good choices and  healthy living over the past couple of months than days like yesterday. On a positive note, I didn't like the way I felt yesterday. I felt full, stuffed, uncomfortable, and weighted down. That's positive because yesterday's indulgence did not make me want more of the same.

A new way of thinking for me. It's about time!

One of the things Linda and I talked about during our hours of chatting, was the importance of being heard. There are times in life when we need to talk in order to rid ourselves of the issues or experiences that have wounded us. When we are unable to do that for whatever reason, our minds and bodies will find other ways to cope with the emotional and/or physical pain. When we share our hearts with people who care about us and validate us by their compassionate presence, healing can take place. I didn't eat yesterday out of loneliness or fear, hurt or disappointment as I have in the past. I just ate. I indulged in foods I do not normally eat, and they were delicious. But this morning, I don't feel pulled to the kitchen to forage for more super sweet treats. Instead, I want clean, healthy foods that will nourish me. I'm still moving in the right direction.

Until next time . . .