Day 72: Closing the door and moving on!

 

We all respond differently to stressful times.  I tend to hunker down and get to business, more so, the bigger the stress.  My original weight loss in 1989 was based on my concern for my kindergartner and my ability to keep up should he hurt himself on the playground.

My "big" original Spark loss (after regaining and a number of rollers over the years) was leading up to and during my son's first deployment.  (Yes, that same kindergartner grew up and signed on to the reserves.)

I now present the little weight chart (weight is just ONE measure) of the last 72 days.  Yep, the demise of Spark has been a stressor, too.

What I have observed, over the decades is that minor stress, the nagging unfinished tasks (NUTS, yes, I found that old blog in the review), I would tend to eat over.  But major stressors threw me into self-preservation mode, and I did better at taking care of myself.

We are now back at the dreaded Finish Line Syndrome

This morning, I was up early.  Not knowing what time zone Spark operates on, but suspecting I still had a bit of time, I went over and logged my account out on the phone app, and deleted it from my screen.  I came onto the browser and did the same on the Web site.  I have closed the door.  I did not delete my account, but I am done.

The big question is:  what happens next?  And you know what?  What happens next is we move on.  I posted my tea-towel status over on My Fitness Pal.  Cronometer tracking has been a part of my life that whole 70 days or so, as that graph pretty much shows.  And here I am on Blogger, posting my morning pep talk.

The only piece that I haven't found a satisfactory replacement for is the little Spark Coaching piece on the start page that let me set up tasks for the day, and check them off as done, right within the web page.  I am only just starting to experiment with Google Calendar tasks.  I started a OneNote notebook to-do list, and I looked at the Google sheets version of a to-do list.  So far, nothing has taken hold of me.  I may just fall back on my paper calendar, which I still keep, all over the house (bedroom wall, on the 'fridge, and a big book style one on the kitchen phone counter).  

There is no need to consider this a finish line.  It's just another day.  😎🌞

So, for today:

• Anybody remember:  "Eat what's in the bag"?  I don't pack a bag any more, since retirement, except on special days when I have an outing planned.  But the phrase resonates, and reminds me to eat what my body needs to stay healthy.
• Remember to breathe.  Nothing is so vital it won't wait ten minutes for your exercise break!
• Remember that taking care of yourself is not a selfish act.  You are of more use to others and the world if you take care of YOU!  YOU are a valuable human being, worth taking care of.

Now, let's get out there and LIVE, best we can, under whatever burdens we may personally have today.  After all, it's the only Tuesday, August 17, 2021 we'll ever get.  And Life is Good.

Spark on!  ✨💖🎆