Oh My! Oh No!

 

 I'm going to "borrow" something Margie does on her RV Travel Blog and post a daily picture of "life through Sharon's eyes."  I love her pictures and hope she will consider this a form a flattery because that is truly what it is.  Today's picture is a view of my backyard taken in late May.  This is what I see out my den window where I sit while writing my blog.

Four weeks from today, on July 30, I will turn 55.  How can that be?  I don't feel "old."  In fact, I am probably in better health right now than I was in most of my 30's and 40's.  I certainly am more active and practice better eating habits.  But when I was 30, 55 didn't just seem old, it seemed ANCIENT.  So being the frugal (a.k.a. cheap) soul that I am, I am not looking at this birthday as becoming a "senior" anything, but as the date in which a whole new world of discounts become open to me.  I have told Mr. B that for my birthday present, I want to pick five places where I will become eligible for a discount.  Then I will go to each place and pick out any one item that I want.  For some odd reason, he has not yet agreed to this request.   I'll keep you posted!  Seriously speaking, I am happy to be celebrating this birthday because the truth is, I DO feel  strong and healthy, am content with the lifestyle we have chosen, feel blessed to have family and friends who love me unconditionally and am continuing to make positive strides toward becoming the person I believe God wants me to be.  On this earth, what more could one want?

Between now and July 30, there are a lot of things I would like to accomplish, not the least of which is being a few pounds closer to my goal.  In order to do that, I have several obstacles I'm going to be forced to navigate.  That would include two holiday cook-outs this weekend, my dad's birthday, my MIL's birthday and a niece's birthday,  I have already made the decision that we will acknowledge the birthdays in some way that does not involve food.  I'm still working on the best way to deal with the events this weekend.   In every instance, I'm trying to follow my own advice from this post last week. 

1)  Look for a way out of the situation (not possible)

2)  Find a way to work within the circumstances (yep, this is it!)

3)  Compromise (there will also be some of this)

I have done a lot of blog reading today and sense that lots of people are struggling.  Maybe it's the heat wave much of the country has experienced so early in the summer (although thankfully, we're enjoying a reprieve here in East Tennessee), maybe it's the upcoming holiday in which all of us will face one or more occasions to overeat, maybe it's your own illness or that of a family member, maybe it's loneliness or the fact that you DON'T have any holiday plans when it seems everyone else does, or maybe you are just tired, tired, tired of thinking/counting/analyzing everything that goes in your mouth and seeing little movement at the scale.  I've read every one of these situations in one or more blogs today.   Let's encourage one another as best we can.  Find a blog you haven't connected with in a while or a brand new one, and leave a comment. Friendship and support, whether face-to-face or in a virtual community, takes no holidays.