Stubborn as a Mule, Week 30, Day 6

It has taken tenacity to lose the weight I have, and it will take tenacity and a strong will to stick with it to reach my goals and maintain a healthy weight. But heaven help me if that tenacity slops over into the dang-fool stubbornness I've seen in my family this week. I have no idea how to deal with this, and I'm ready to start slapping people. Really!

Mom won't do her at-home exercises the physical therapy people want her to, and she fell again yesterday. The PT is supposed to make her stronger so she won't fall so much, but she won't do the work to become stronger...so what are we to do? One major bone break and she will end up in a nursing home. But we can't force her to exercise. Dad won't push the issue, and I won't be here much longer. So we're stuck. The best I can do is 1) pray for her, and 2) try to remember this 30 years from now and not worry and frustrate my own kids....and 3) do the hard work now and keep it up for the rest of my life so maybe 30 years from now I won't even have these same issues.

As for Dad, his first time driving to the hospital to do our walking, he takes the EXACT route the doctor told him not to (dr says it's too dangerous for an elderly person). And he balks at the 10am-2pm limits (no school kids or factory workers on the road during those times, thus the safest times for him to drive). We had a BIG argument about it today, complete with my actually having to mention the possibility of removing his driver's license if he was not going to behave himself within the limits presented to him. Was I wrong? Perhaps. Maybe what I should do is let him go ahead and have an accident, pray it's only minor, and then let someone else answer the license question. I don't know. How does a loving daughter respectfully rein in a bit an 81 year old father? It's not an easy question to answer. He's a good driver, a wise man, and a wonderful dad. I hope he knows how much I love him.

So as I seek my own fitness, I am adjusting my goals. I want a hard body, a steel resolve to reach my goals, and a soft, loving heart that does not so closely resemble a MULE. In the meantime, please God, please protect the ones I love so very much. And help me to let go of the things I cannot change.

Today's Tip:
Change the thing you can. The prayer of St. Francis is awesome. It teaches us to let go of the things we can't change. But we often forget that the other part of the prayer is to change the things we can -- and that includes our fitness and weight. We DO have the power to change things. Little by little we CAN do it. Don't worry about what you can't change. But DO make the effort to change what you can!