Monday, March 3, 2008

Anatomy of A Good Day

THE TODAY SHOW

Since I was up and at ‘em with the girls this morning, I didn’t get a chance to catch much of the show. Did see the story about the mayor of a small Oregon town, who was voted out of office because of some sexy pictures on My Space that either a friend or family member posted with her knowledge.

The story went that she is a divorcee, 42 and attractive. She had taken some pictures that were part of her portfolio from her fitness training days. She is single and someone who cares about her wanted to hook her up. So when they asked to do the thing, she said go on ahead.

Of course, someone from town saw them and raised a stink. Too bad, because she is a nice looking woman. The double standard is thick, as I am sure if it was a beefcake shot of a man, it wouldn’t have raised such a fuss.

MALL WALKING

I wish that I had discovered fitness walking sooner. Now to me, fitness walking is walking at a normal to brisk pace for at least 30 consecutive minutes. If you want to measure yourself, you should comfortably walk a mile in at least 20 minutes. Most fit tables have you doing more than that, but let’s say you are walking at home and you do that half hour, then come home and STRAIGHT AWAY get to doing some kind of exercise for a half hour. This is how you get your metabolism in gear, working for a full hour. You cover both your aerobic and your muscle training as well as the heart rate/metabolism boost.

Now, the way I have been taught is aerobic first, the strength training second you burn more calories. The converse means you are shaping the muscle that you are building up. Got it? Good!

My weight was 218, and I feel strong at it. Good beans!

BACK ON MESSAGE

I promised myself that I was going to have a good day, and I meant exactly that! I decided to switch buses at the mall, and took a route that leaves me more directly at my doctor’s office. But since the first Monday of the month is a ‘Nebraska Monday’, I also owed myself a treat! I had been stopping at Starbuck’s and getting a muffin and coffee, the muffin being the one I picked up with her. But it is a seasonal muffin, and isn’t on sale anymore. Chose not to stop at the mall, where everything is overpriced and fairly crappy.

So while my mind was occupied with that, I lost track of where I was headed, as I don’t take this route AT ALL. So I ended up missing my stop, and had rushed off the bus, leaving my bike helmet. Dag! So I hopped on my bike, and pedaled back to the doctor’s office. Since the temperature was well above freezing, there had been a big melt of the snow packs, leaving huge puddles covering the layer of ice that coated the sidewalk …

… and of course, I promptly fell! Now, between leaving my helmet on the bus, not getting my monthly treat, AND falling in a stinky puddle getting all wet, my day could have really took a turn. I ran a quick ‘systems check’ and found that I wasn’t hurt in the least. Though one pant leg and some of my lower back got wet, including my jackets and shirt, the things that needed to stay dry, materials that were due at the library and my ‘messenger bag’ (I used to call it a ‘purse’ but not everyone is as comfortable with me saying that as I am … I STILL have the little Coach handbag that I used to carry BOLDLY at A & T State!) didn’t get wet … so you know what I called it..?

A win!

Rode up the street to the office, and settled down to have my appointment. Talked about this and we talked about that. One thing I will share is that I told him, like I am saying here, that once I decided that I was going to find my way out of this relationship, I got a normal blood pressure reading. The impact of this is deeper than you think.

If high BP is a heredity thing with me, I can’t be sure. My ‘dad’ is actually my step dad. I don’t know my birth father. That is another entry that may or may not ever be made, because I never had a problem with it. But my Mom, that is a different story. So it could be possible, to highly likely.

After I made the decision to leave Mookie at a time and point in the future, and I had committed to it mentally, that was when I got my good reading, 108 over 80. Even when I was in training as a boxer, in my youth or as an adult, I would read what is now considered pre-hypertensive. It didn’t then, and I don’t think it would cause much of a worry now. After our first year of living together, my BP went up and never came down …

… until I told myself that I need to leave her. Deep.

I hopped the bus and rode it all the way home. I have to switch at the downtown station, and the driver on the bus was a nice looking lady … so I told her, ‘You are definitely a sight for sore eyes! I think you are a nice looking lady!’ You know what I did then? I went to a seat and sat down! The thing is, I was having a nice day and wanted to share some of it with someone, nothing more and nothing less. I could tell by her smile that she liked the comment and that was all it was meant to do … make her smile and give her that moment.

LIL’ MOOK IS GROWING UP!

I still parent. What is going to happen when the end game is played is beyond my vision. Right now I have to do what I HAVE to do.

Lil’ Mook shares a name with KT, and I still intend to be the adult in her life. Apparently she has gotten the okay to wear eyeliner..! She will be 14 this year, and man, where did the time go!

When she came in from school, I was in the shower, which is protocol for coming in wet. I didn’t follow that last month and got sick. Anyway, when I came downstairs, I notice how full her eyes looked … EYELINER! She said she had been wearing it since the New Year … where was my memo! She really looked pretty, and she could EASILY pass for a sophomore in high school.

So I asked her if she had a boy friend. She said ‘no’, but of course that is to be expected. But I don’t think that she does, on the real. As I got my bowl of oatmeal together, I thought of her namesake and the conversation that her Mom told me to have with her over the summer. And so …

I told lil’ Mook that she is a very attractive girl, and that if she wasn’t getting any attention from boys, she would be soon. Your friends, I said, won’t be able to tell you anything as they are the same age as you, and are in the same boat. Your Mom was a good girl, I know because I WAS THERE (that is also another entry that may or may not be made). But she still only knows what works for her. Me, on the other hand … I am the cat that everyone will tell you to look out for … so when your boyfriends give you a headache, and they will, you come on and talk it out with someone, preferably me. Because of my path, I can’t be judgmental, but I can help you manage the consequence of your choices …

… again, don’t know if she got it … don’t think she did, but one day she will, and that is the goal.

… uh, yeah I do know what that kind of conversation may lead people to think … but I don’t think I should take a complete pass on doing what I think is right. In fact, that is something that I think has taken the stress off of me, doing what I think is right. So don’t you judge me!! (laugh, it is the line Earl’s Mother <Brett Butler> used in ‘My Name Is Earl’! Still appropriate!)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Mark; day didn't quite go as you planned with those bumps in the road (not the muffin you wanted, left your helmet, fell and got wet etc) but that was an awesome BP reading!!! and your weight is looking good!! that should be putting a smile on your face :)

betty