Do something today that will yield results in the spring

 

 

Hello everybody! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Mine was quite eventful, but none of it planned. I finally went to the doctor on Thursday to get some medicine for an infection that has been lingering. As I mentioned before, I stopped to check on a friend on Thursday evening and shared about the skunk incident. What a mess! His house still reeks of the aroma. Phew!  I took the advice of my boss and decided to stay home on Friday to allow the medicine to work and to try to get some rest. It was a good idea, but resting never seems to be part of my routine. I definitely am sleep deprived, but no matter what I do, I still wake up at a ridiculously early hour. This habit will come in handy later this week when my friends pick me up for my Fly Fishing Adventure at the wee hour of 3:30 am!  Yikes!  (more about THAT big trip later this week).

What was supposed to be a day to rest and allow the medication to do its job turned into a day of all sorts of unexpected events. The neighbor shot a deer and needed some help hanging it up in a tree, my friend had an allergic reaction to some medication and had hands that doubled in size and were covered with an intensely itchy rash, and to top it off, on Friday evening, his son (the one that took me for my first Harley ride this summer) paid a “surprise” visit from Florida! He flew in for an extended weekend. This was a complete shock and it was great to see him, even if I didn’t feel well. I went home and went to bed, but I’m sure he enjoyed his visit with his dad on Friday night.

Saturday was a gorgeous fall day. The sun was warm and bright and the leaves are just about at peak color now. Many of them have already fallen on the ground, but the ones still on the trees are glorious. I was able to enjoy the view on the way to church on Sunday and later Sunday afternoon when I took my friend to Urgent Care for that allergic reaction. I spent a few hours on Saturday afternoon putting the yard furniture away, emptying the fountain for the winter, and moving some of the pots and yard decorations to the sheds. It was bittersweet….because it really was my admission that the gardening season has almost ended, but at least I was beginning to feel better.  

I need to buy some tulip and daffodil bulbs to plant. I always enjoy the sight of those glorious harbingers of spring, but I never seem motivated to plant them in the fall. I suppose it’s because I’m impatient and want instant results now. The idea of  doing work and investing in something TODAY that won’t produce results until spring isn’t appealing,  but it still is important if I want those spring flowers.

In a sense, that’s what we are doing now in our life, right?  We sometimes become impatient with ourselves on our journey to better health because we don’t see results RIGHT AWAY.  We think….”hey, I worked out…I followed my eating plan this week…I turned down that 2^nd piece of pizza….I should lose 10 pounds this week, right?” and when it DOESN’T happen…we get discouraged and give up.  Sound familiar? Too often we expect things to happen “overnight” when in reality we know that true, lasting results come from changing one’s life…not from changing one’s habits for a few days.  When I was actively trying to lose weight, there were days when I would get discouraged. During those times, I’d have to remind myself that I didn’t get to be 400 pounds in 6 months and I wouldn’t get to be 200 pounds in 6 months either. It took me almost 2 years to lose the weight and in all honestly, those 2 years were SO MUCH EASIER than keeping it off. Don’t get discouraged…..Take a lesson from the tulips:  What you do NOW…TODAY…THIS MINUTE…(yes, throw the other half of that donut/cookie/candy bar away)….will yield results….in the spring perhaps! By next May, you could be 15 (or more) pounds lighter; you could be celebrating 6 months of sobriety; you could be celebrating your “half-year anniversary” of kicking a habit”; you could be walking a mile when today you can only walk the length of your driveway. Maybe you could be going out to lunch with someone that you are currently “at odds” with because you are harboring resentment, anger, or unforgiveness.  Go ahead….plant some bulbs this week…(in a pot if necessary due to climate issues where you live)…and make healthy choices with your life today…and by the time those flowers bloom in the spring….You could be celebrating your success – whatever that may mean to you.  I think I better stop and buy some bulbs myself!

I’ll post more later as time allows. Have a good day!!!