Mother's Day Special: Day 21

Day 21 wrapping up, of our 24 Day Challenge and we remain Perfect!

We are starting to see difference in ourselves, physically, with inches dropping off.  Katie's pants and shorts are fitting looser.  My t-shirts are not so tight and it feels like the neck is hanging on me when I workout.  And it's almost annoying. ;)  Does that sound familiar?  Complain about wanting change and then complain some more, when something is different.

But really, it was getting to a point where Katie and I are wearing stuff that was getting tighter and tighter, or shirts/pants that we've had for 4 years.  Heck for me, I've got t-shirts that are 5+ years old.  They're just getting comfy!  Just breaking them in!  But, we're happy, really, on top of the world!  We just don't want to go out and buy anything right yet.  We'll get smaller and smaller.  That is when we'll go out and get some newer stuff. But the numbers of the inches are going the right direction, for sure.  We'll measure again, for the 4th time during this challenge, tonight.  I'll report the numbers tomorrow, as well, I'll weigh in tomorrow at my doc's office.

But the purpose of blogging tonight was for this topic.  Mother's Day.  I was able to get Katie out of the house and we spent time at one of the malls with our kiddos.  Let them run around.  They got to ride the train, that is like a little golf cart sized train with some pull behind trailers that are the passenger cars, plus, Katie took Tate on the carousel where he was able to ride his favorite dragon.  We even treated ourselves out to lunch.  But we still didn't cheat!  Subway was the choice.  Black forest ham and turkey, on wheat (complex carb; only one of the day) all the veggies we could pile on, no mayo, no cheese.  Each of us ate a 6 inch.  Katie even woke up and was done with her workout by 10:00 a.m. today.  She had the rest of the day to herself and us!  She did really good.  Killed it.

But who is the mother that all of us have?  Any guesses?  Do you have it yet?  Mother Nature.  Yep, her.  The one who snows on Mother's Day, after she's been teasing you this last month of April with some temps up in the 70's.  Well, I bring up Mother Nature for the simple target of being able to talk about Force. 

For years and years, Rattlesnake Creek, in Missoula, Montana, had one main channel, where it would flow down and go through town, eventually meeting up and feeding into the Clark Fork River, right near the University of Montana. At one particular are of Rattlesnake Creek, it flows through a public park (no playground) that is mainly just a green area used for lots and lots of pictures, or for anyone that wants to start their hike there (a lot of trailheads) or just going there to read in the peace and quiet, while listening to the wind ruffle the branches or the water flowing.  This park is called Greenough Park.  Really, a beautiful are of Missoula that showcases it's beauty. The  cool thing is, even being a bigger creek, if you go a couple miles up the creek and drive through some residential areas, there are a few different spots you park and walk back to the creek.  It is pretty powerful. 

Well, I don't recall the year, but we had a huge ice-jam on the Blackfoot River.  The Blackfoot River, east of Missoula, is a popular river that a lot of locals will float during the summer, on their tubes, with a rope tied to a cooler, just basking in the sun.  Now that is a good way to spend 4 hours of a hot summer day!  Anyhow, The Blackfoot also meets up with the Clark Fork River, about 6 miles east of Missoula, so well before the Rattlesnake Creek does.  Beings that it got pretty cold that winter, the Blackfoot River froze, on top of the surface and just kept adding ice with the freezing temps.  More and more ice built up.  I'm sure the ice reached levels of 8 foot deep.  There were pictures of a cabin on the side of the river, up the Blackfoot, that was taken out by the expanding ice.  Well, naturally, Rattle Snake Creek froze too. Very similar to how the river froze.  It eventually built more and more ice. 

For us locals, we'd only ever known that one channel through the main part of Greenough Park.  But that late winter, early spring, there was so much ice and snow pack at the park, the ice thawed so quickly that right in the middle of the park, underneath the ice on top, stealing the show, a brand new channel had been naturally formed.  Not man-made.  It was powerful enough that the force caused erosion of the soil underneath all the snow and ice.  When the ice and snow cleared, by spring, the new channel was beautiful and peaceful, very much welcomed by all of us.  Most of the community that I saw, were just in awe at the raw beauty of power that was displayed.

Tie this around to eating clean and fitness.  If there is enough erosion of the negative self-talk, enough erosion of eating junk food, enough erosion of doing no activity, then you can build your own new channel.  Tune out of the other channel.  Granted this does not fit exactly into the Rattlesnake Creek story, since it's got 2 channels now, just simply known as Rattlesnake Creek. But instead, it does have 2 channels and both of them are beautiful.  So, you can still be the same person, just make different choices, if what you want is change.  You can still be a beautiful person.  You can still have the same friends.  You don't have to tell anyone that you're going to change.  Think of all that work that took place under the surface of the ice and snow.  That could be you! The end result is going to be even more beautiful that you'd ever imagined.  You'll wonder why your 2nd channel took so long to show up.

Well, it's kind of a stretch.  Work under the surface if you have to but with enough force of changing your patterns and behavior that may have you stuck in a funk, you can change it.  If you let it happen and you're ready for a change, you'll be proud of yourself.

I feel very blessed to have what I have. I love you Katie.  Happy Mother's Day to you.  My mother and grandmother are both very proud of me.  I know it. Thank you for your unconditional Love! These changes we're making, they're worth it.  Our lives are worth it.  Tate's and Cece's lives are worth it. 

The Best Day of My Life!