BLOGGER TEMPLATES - TWITTER BACKGROUNDS

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

M Is for Marching On

In a group I belong to on Facebook, I remarked a couple of weeks ago that I was putting my diet and wellness plan on hold until after Labor Day. That may not have been the smartest thing to do and I’ll admit, at the time, I was letting the future upheaval my life was about to face be the excuse I needed to ignore taking care of myself.
My oldest son, Kyle, turned 18 this summer and graduated from high school, momentous occasions in a young man’s life and that of his parents. He had announced his plans early in the summer to move out but not just out – all the way to Oregon from southern Illinois. I had plenty of time to prepare. I had already packed my daughter off to boot camp and six-year stint in the military a few years before. I was ready for this. But as the weeks slipped by and the departure drew near, I started to feel panicky. Who would look after him? How would I know he was safe? I had never gone more than a day not hearing from him and that was when he was at a sleepover. How would I survive days or weeks at a time, not knowing anything about what was happening in his life? It is his time to march on.
The traditional rite of passage in our house has been that as one child moves out, the next oldest gets to move into the “big bedroom”. So as Kyle was cleaning out his room, packing up his life and making ready to leave, Sean, the youngest, was cleaning out his room in anticipation of the big move. The house was in utter chaos.
Enter Vicky, my firstborn and the only girl, into the maelstrom. She is a single mom and struggling financially. In order to get on her feet, she approached us about moving herself and her almost2 year-old back into the house in exchange for reduced rent and help around the house. So I lose one child to the world and one comes back with a bonus. She is now ensconced in our home and the adjustment has been challenging.
I spent this past weekend, Labor Day weekend, working on the rental house she vacated so we can re-rent it. I also worked on my lesson plans for Sean as I homeschool him and we are to begin today. You see, life marches on. It does not wait for you. There is no perfect time to take care of yourself. I have realized the trick is finding out how to do it amidst all the chaos that is my life.
I weighed in at 255.9 today, a good five or six lbs. heavier than month. It could have been far worse but today, I begin to march on, again. My 50th birthday approaches and I am a long way from where I’d hoped to be but I will persevere. I will march on.

1 comments:

Cin said...

Theresa,

We'll get back on this horse together. The wine-filled weekend was tasty, but now I have an extra pound or five to get rid of, but it was a restful break. I also got information about where to buy food that is farm fresh and good for me, so I figure the splurge was worth it.

We plan to be bad at Thanksgiving, ignoring the carbs in our food as long as it is gluten-free and are using that planned reprieve to motivate us until then. Congrats at having Vicky and Jess home again.

Circle 8 Anthologies Featuring my Short Stories