Rita, Meet Your Body...

It's amazing what just the right kind of pain can drive a person to; like...a commitment to healthier eating...maybe?  That's actually a very novel idea for me.  Always one to struggle with weight issues through the years, I easily recall the many times that I "swore" I would "never do that to my body again!"  Looking at my track record I must concede that this particular oath seems to have gotten misplaced (or disposed of all together) in my long-term memory. : (
Sight, aroma or emotional craving have been convenient memory blockers for the unkind treatment to which I've subjected my personal and, even more importantly, essential vessel for this earthly journey.

I know very few people who cherish even the thought of expelling (for lack of a nicer term) their stomach contents.  That's the type of impression this, typically, uncontrollable physical process most often leaves.   It felt sincere each time I made my adamant proclamation.  Unfortunately, there is too much evidence to the contrary to challenge that sincerity: physical appearance, pictures, varied and escalating clothing sizes to name the most compelling.

But back to the heart of the matter:
   "pain n.  
         1. An unpleasant sensation occurring in varying degrees of severity as a consequence of injury,      
             disease, or emotional disorder, *or over/indulgent eating.  
         2. Suffering or distress."
NOT to be confused with:
         "4. pains Great care or effort: take pains with one's work."


The human condition dictates that pain be a part of our life-experience (thanks a lot, Adam and Eve!).  Childbirth itself bears witness to just how much the human body can endure (love you, Anna and Lauren!).  And now I'm beginning to believe that pain truly is capable of impressing the importance of certain life-style changes.  That's how convincing six hours in the ER with a 'twisted gut' is capable of being! 


My short-term memory still seems to be in good working order.  Now, let's see just how well my long-term memory serves me this time.  


* literary license my own