Hey Elizabeth,
You don’t know me except our pleasantries in the grocery store, but I want to share something with you. My journey with my weight has been a LONG one. I made a commitment two weeks ago with a co-worker to join a gym with her so we can exercise together. She just recently had a double mastectomy and is having reconstructive breast surgery for the second time in December. She wants to lose 40 pounds before then and that’s exactly what I need to lose. So I thought, heck, it’s a great opportunity for both of us. Well, two weeks of diet watching and exercising have netted a zero pound loss for me! You don’t know how depressed I have been today; I have cried most of the day. So discouraging, and I am not usually Debbie downer, but this has really put me down. I have enjoyed reading about your journey. Do you have any tidbits for me to keep this going?

What is it about change that makes it so scary? Is it the unknown? Is it that it’s better the way it is? Or maybe, it’s easier the way it is. Perhaps knowing what you have is better than fearing what you don’t, even if what you have isn’t that great. Regardless, there are two facts about change: 1. It is inevitable. 2. Most people don’t like it.

The theme for this month’s editorial is Be Healthy. While there are a million things I could write about along the lines of health, given my ongoing weight loss journey, I’m going to write about happiness, instead. I thought long and hard about the topic of health and discovered it is multi-dimensional. Health doesn’t only mean you are not sick. It also isn’t as simple as your body working correctly. Health is a well-rounded phenomenon, which is the sum of being, and a major part of the equation is happiness.

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably know I workout because of the daily photo that I post of Dr. Tracy Blusewicz, my workout partner, and me. Sometimes I think it’s a bit much, but we both have people tell us regularly that we are an inspiration to them. For that alone, it is worth continuing to post.

My cell phone rang and I answered it. In the midst of my conversation, I hear my home telephone line ringing. I ignore it. I have caller ID; I will call them back. As soon as the telephone stops ringing, a call waiting beep comes through on my cell. I ignore it. I hear the home phone ring again. Although distracted, again, I ignore it. My cell call waiting alerts me again. As I say goodbye to the person I was attempting to have a phone conversation with, the home phone rings for the third time in three minutes. This time I answer, “Good Lord, what?”