A Weighty Matter

When my daughter, Kelsey, went to college, her biggest fear was gaining the famous "freshman five." So we made food goals, such as: no sugar, very little (if any) meat, cut down on the peanut butter, etc. etc. She did very well, I must say. I, however, am struggling. I have had several ladies tell me that they all gained weight after a hysterectomy. Others have told me that once they hit 40, the pounds just glommed on and stayed there, no matter how much exercising they did. Another friend let me in on a little secret of life that her sister shared with her when they were young: choose a weight that you would DIE if you ever gained that much, and you will not go past that. Well, I've had a hysterectomy, I'm over 40 and I have pretty much surpassed all of my pregnancy weight and then some and all this DESPITE running 6 marathons in the past four years, and riding/walking/running on a regular basis with my good friend, Jody. I am only 5'2" and I just about qualify for the "weight division" category for the St. George marathon--WHAT THE?! Now, I realize that you might be thinking, "well, Karen, you DO love the Big Suga," which is true, but I'm still not really sure what happened. I'm a little depressed by the state of my body, but I am determined to ride my bike more (Jody just got a bike and we are getting each other out there) and I am signed up to run the St. George Marathon again this year. Kelsey is going to run it as well, so I have the extra motivation I need because she wants to train together. I realize that I have a forty-year old body, not a twenty year old one anymore, but I would like to stay active and healthy. I will continue to run and ride, watch the Big Suga intake (sadly, it may have to go for a very long time:() I would REALLY love to lose about 25 lbs., but I know that I have to do it slowly and in a healthy way. My first goal will be: lose 5 lbs. Then reward myself with something cool. What should that "something cool" be? Then I'll lose another 5 lbs. and reward myself again. Repeat three more times. I would like a new outfit that I feel good in (first 5 lb. reward), an overnight romantic evening with my hubby (second 5 lb. reward), a spa day (third 5 lb. reward), a trip to the beach (fourth 5 lb. reward) and a new dining room table (goal weight loss: 25 lb.) Okay, the goal is written down. So let it be written, so let it be done!

A Letter to Kelsey: Galilee

Dear Kelsey,

I was awake pretty early this morning and had a moment of solitude to look at our picture of Christ walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. When I first saw this print, it brought a sense of quietness and peace to my heart as I remembered another early morning watching the sun come up over the water of this same sea. The air was crisp and clean, the morning beautiful as I walked over the pebble-strewn beach. One of my favorite events written about in the New Testament is when the Savior comes to Simon Peter and the other disciples, while they are on the fishing boat. The Savior has been crucified and resurrected, and Peter and the others have returned to their earlier profession of fishing in the sea, when they spot a man on the beach with a fire going, inviting them to join him. The man is recognized by the disciples as the resurrected Lord, and Peter jumps into the water to swim to him. At this time, the resurrected Savior asks Simon Peter, three times: Simon Peter, lovest thou me? As Peter answered in the affirmative each time, the Lord followed up His question with: "Feed my sheep." With this exchange, the Resurrected Lord teaches some great lessons. First, this thrice asked question of Peter, "lovest thou me?", gives Peter the opportunity to not only know that the Lord has forgiven him his earlier denial, which has torn Peter apart, but it also allows Peter to tell the Savior, irrevocably, that he does truly love Him. Through this questioning and answering exchange, the Savior is also very clearly establishing Simon Peter as the head of the church on earth, as well as commissioning Peter, and the other apostles, with their very important mission to "feed His sheep," to be a special witness of Jesus Christ and to spread His gospel throughout the land and the world. This is a very tender scene from the New Testament, which I love. I am so grateful that you get to read this account, and many others from the New Testament, while you are in Galilee. I loved the beautiful lushness of this part of the country, and I was quite moved by the ruins of Capernaum ("his own city"), knowing that the Lord taught in the synagogue there and walked along those streets, and gathered to him the men of the area that would serve as His apostles. It is in Galilee where the Lord's ministry began, where he performed many miracles and taught his most powerful sermons. I am so happy that you, too, get to experience the powerful witness of our Savior in the land where He was raised and where he began His mission. I add my own testimony of the life and love of our Savior and His atoning sacrifice for us all.

Love,
Mom

Driving

I took Madi to the DMV last week to get her Learner's Permit. This is the third potential driver for Steve and I. It's kind of like potty training our kids--it's yucky to go through, but the Independence and freedom it brings to both the child and the parents is fantastic! A few evenings after Madi received her permit, Steve and I were talking about cars and what to do next year with two kids driving to school. I couldn't even believe we were having the conversation in the first place, because it seemed like a pretty easy slam dunk solution to the "problem" was to utilize the great little service offered by the school district, called the SCHOOL BUS.

"Why can't Madi just take the bus to school?" I asked. Steve's reply: "Kelsey and Markelle didn't have to.'' Well, their situations were different, and it required either allowing them to drive or having me act as their personal driver, and quite frankly the 6:00 a.m. tumbling classes was not something I really wanted to be getting up for. The same goes for twice daily trips up to the DATC in Kaysville for Markelle's Cosmetology class. In my mind, Madi could ride the bus like everyone else, or bum rides off of friends like some of the kids in the neighborhood.

But then I got a phone call from a friend who had a daughter leaving on a LDS Mission and needed to sell her car. I went up to take a quick look at it, drove it around the block, and after seeing the price, I HAD to have this car! It was a screamin' deal! I told her I would take it--I gave her a check, she gave me a key and a title and off I drove, into the...well, not sunset, but it felt like it: liberating and free, spontaneous, adventuresome and a little scary. I BOUGHT A CAR! All by my little ol' self. It's cute, too. I drove it home and parked it. I drove it around on my errands and filled it's little tank with gasoline. I did not say a word to any of the girls. When they got home, they all wanted to know who was visiting. When I told them that I bought a car, they immediately insisted that we needed to drive down to Pace's Dairy Ann to get some onion rings and a Coke. Then we had to drive around Bountiful. Markelle and Madi took turns driving the car and they fell in love with it. Then the questions started: who gets to drive the car? I demurely deflected the question--we'll deal with that in November when Madi gets her Driver's License and we will then have FIVE drivers in the family! (and my husband is an insurance agent, so he knows EXACTLY what that means!)