I've told you before and I will tell you again, it is not easy being me!

Good Thursday morning, I hope all is well with you and yours on this November 19, 2009. I am thankful to be able to be up and going as we are fast closing in on putting 2009 into the history books. I made a pledge to keep it light this week, therefore, I must stay away from any current political topics because the stuff that’s happening right now really gets to me. In fact, back home we used to say it this way: "Don't that just burn you up?" If you hear a muffled sound, it is me dragging myself off of my soapbox, but doing so with a whole lot of kicking and screaming. Suffice it to say that the infamous hope and change is thus far giving us a whole bunch of hopelessness with a huge amount of damaging change. But I promised to behave so let me move on to something a little less combustible.

Have you ever climbed on the scales after not being on them for a while and suddenly you find yourself doing a double take? This happened to me the other day. I like to do my diabetic diet thing on a “best effort” basis but not to the extent that it dominates my life. Within this context I try to stay plus or minus 5 pounds from my chosen ideal target weight. The shock came after not having weighed myself for a few days and I discovered I had slightly breached the top end of my five-pound control limit. What do you do when this happens? I first immediately began to examine the scales. Who has been messing with these scales? Next, I looked at my eyes in the mirror thinking perhaps some type of slimy substance might have clouded my contacts and blurred the number I was reading. Maybe it was a shadow or a bathroom lighting problem. Having completed my checklist, which included recalibrating the scales, cleaning the display, and practicing a few deep breaths to loosen up my system, I bravely stepped back on the scales.

Those famous words from the Apollo 13 near calamitous event rang in my ears: Houston, we have a problem! This was last Sunday night and I went on to have bad dreams about it during my rapid eye movement cycle which is a time that is near and dear to my heart. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and I suddenly have to deal with a weight crisis? My grandfather’s words were ringing in my ears as I drove in Monday morning: “Only one way to control your weight, push away from the table.” I curtailed my intake during the day Monday but came home to a fried pork chop dinner. There’s no way I will insult that woman after she slaved over a hot stove, or something like that. I did well again on Tuesday but she prepared homemade chicken enchiladas to kill for, loaded up with enough thick and creamy cheese to make a goat blush. However, I bravely indulged myself one more time. The good news is that I did so with a modicum of control, therefore, I am back into the safe zone by a pound and a half, but with next week’s bird day on the horizon I must keep on keeping on! I bet I would have burned up a few more calories had I written about politics, but as I do my sign off today I'm feeling very conflicted and also very hungry! Pray for me! Until next time, may the Good Lord take a liking to you and yours. Amen. ……More later.