Resolutions, Clarity, and Not-so-Skinny Jeans

Skinny jeans aren’t really skinny, unless the person wearing the jeans is skinny; otherwise, “skinny jeans” are just your average wide leg jean that tapers at the ankle.

I had a real light-bulb moment when I held my “skinny” jeans out in front of me and took in the entirety of their girth.

My “skinny” jeans look strikingly similar to my “fat” jeans.

Enter: The New Year’s Diet Resolution.

When I just typed the words “New Year’s Resolution”, a deep and very ominous voice spoke them in my head, so I hope you’re getting the full gravity of my resolution.

Today, getting skinny meant sitting at the table and watching my kids eat cheesecake.  Temptation rose up around me like red-faced demons trying to drag my flabby thighs right to the pits of wide-leg denim hell.

I drank a diet Coke, hoping to trick my brain into thinking it was just as good a treat as cheesecake.

My brain knows better.

Lest you want to scold me for being shallow, putting too much focus on the size of my jeans, and thinking the whole world has to be skinny, let me explain.

I think each of us has a comfortable and healthy weight range. We should aim to live in that range.  My numbers are different from your numbers, just like my body is different from yours.  But, we all have our happy and healthy place.

I overshot my happy and healthy place this year.  I knew it was happening.  Each pound felt a little heavier, but this has been a year of many adjustments for me.  I moved from NY to Virginia, and my entire life changed.

Maybe turning forty brought a certain level of clarity to my thinking, or maybe I’m just learning to accept myself for who I am.  Either way, I know I can’t do it all.

I can do a few things at a time, and I can do them well, but the moment I take on too much, it all starts to collapse.

Do you ever feel that way?

I packed my house well.

I went to work everyday and did my job well.

I took care of my kids well.

I did not eat well, nor did I exercise well.

I decided, back in the spring, to extend some grace to myself.  I don’t usually do that.  I’m generally pretty hard on myself, but this one time, I told myself it was okay to focus on all the other important things in my life.  I told myself that when I settled into my new home, I’d focus on getting back to my happy and healthy place.

So, that’s what I’m doing, and it’s not even one bit easy.

I lost five pounds in the last twenty-five days.

I’ve made good choices, and I’ve made some bad choices.  I’m learning that one bad choice need not spoil the entire day, or week, or month.

Grace.

I bet you need it too.  Don’t be afraid to cut yourself some slack.  You’ll make a better choice next time.  Be kind to yourself, and don’t give up!

I can already feel my (not so) skinny jeans loosening up a bit.  This resolution thing is working.

One choice at a time – One grace-filled day at a time.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to success is always to just try one more time. ~Thomas A. Edison

What resolutions are you working on this new year?

P.S. I totally have a plan to eat a big creamy piece of cheesecake on my birthday. Until then, I will resist temptation.