Nevin, at supper, “So where is Charis going to go to school?”

Parents, silence.

Evangeline, “She’ll go to preschool.”

Dad, “What’s the official age for real pre-school.”

Mom, “Three. Remember, Nevin went when Calvin was in K.”

Evangeline, “Yeah, and I went the year after and had the same teacher.”

Nevin, “Well, I meant when she gets to K.”

Calvin, “What’s the age of that grade before K?”

Mom, “You mean pre-K.”

Calvin, “Yes. I didn’t go to pre-K because I was too tall.”

Mom, “No. You didn’t go to pre-K because we moved in the middle of the school year and had never heard of pre-K before we moved to Oklahoma.”

Calvin, “Well, you told me it was because I was too tall.”

Mom, “No. You just extrapolated that from something else I said.”

Evangeline, “How old was I when we moved there?”

Mom, “Eighteen months old.”

Nevin, “That was 5 years ago.”

Mom, “No, it was 6 years ago.”

Dad, “Wow, Calvin is 10 years old.”

Mom, “It seems like yesterday.”

Mom breaks into song, “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it seems as though there here to stay.”

Dad, “Ha, ha…”

Mom, “That’s really a depressing song.” (to the tune of said song)

Yes. I know that was a long and drawn out recreation of our supper conversation. But it is indicative of a couple of things to me, so bear with me.

First, on the positive side, after nearly 15 years of marriage and with our oldest being 10, we are creating a family history. We’re really in the thick of life, and I am so glad to have the family that I have. It is fun to have a real conversation with our kids now while remembering a time when we sat around the table hearing a 5-, a 4-, and a 3-year-old telling meaningless knock-knock jokes. And, we’ve also added one to our number since those days. God has blessed us with so much on so many levels.

Second, on the less positive side, we are facing some stresses in life, and we need your prayers. It’s not the earthshattering kinds of things like terminal illness or divorce, but just the typical stresses of life. However, when your the one having the stresses, it can feel very heavy and like they are here to stay.

I just finished doing “2 miles” of Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds Express 4 mile Superchallenge. I bought this tape shortly after Charis was born, and I did the 4 miles at least 3 times a week for about 6 weeks back then. It really didn’t help me lose much weight, but I did feel pretty good doing it. I used to call it “aerobics for dummies” because you obviously get a good workout, but the steps are simple variations of walking. I always struggled with other aerobics videos because the moves were too complicated for my poorly coordinated body (and even in my 18 months of thinness, I was still not coordinated).

I was reading a book by Leslie Sansone at Barnes and Noble today, and it inspired me to give the program another try. I am going to try to do this 3 times a week along with my twice a week walking with a friend. Here’s hoping it helps.

Update on the dieting efforts. I have had a bit of a lull with my program. Each week, I take a break on Sundays because of company for lunch or going to lunch at someone else’s home. Mostly, I try to make the best choices I can in the situation and not to overeat. So far, this hasn’t been harmful. However, it seems like I have come to a plateua in losses. I haven’t weighed myself since my last post, and I don’t plan to weigh again until the end of this week.

I really think the biggest problem is that I am getting bored with the menu on the diet. It can be varied, but many of the choices are a bit pricey, and I am already having to cook essentially two meals since kids generally don’t eat a lot of salad and meat. I always make the same meat for the kids as what Mark and I will eat, then I make them a starchy side dish, and also make a fresh salad for Mark and me. Meal prep is a bit overwhelming some days.

That being said, I am not giving up. I am just feeling like I need to add a little variety. I think I will be spending some time looking into the diet’s menus and recipes to see if I can find some affordable options to add a little zip and keep me interested. I also hope to add more exercise to my life this week, too.

The positive side is that my energy level is pretty good, and I am looking forward to reporting more losses here. Tune in later to hear reports of success!