Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

As the holiday season grows nearer, my schedule's not quite as busy as my neighborhood postal carrier, but I have had a busy couple of weeks.

I'm a telecommuter, and I do have a fixed schedule. But a lot of people have been taking vacation days, so there's a lot of extra work to spread around. I'm taking as much as I can to boost my paycheck.

I've also been busy, of course, doing the normal holiday things. Although I had most of my purchased by the beginning of December, I still had to wrap them all, and I didn't finish that process until yesterday afternoon.

And then, of course, there's things like planning a treat to take to the holiday party we'll have at my belly dancing class on Thursday. I've chosen some chocolate Rice Krispies treats, which are surprisingly low in calories and fat.

With all this going on, I've been a bit stressed. It reached its nadir last Friday morning. I was at the neighborhood consignment story for an appointment to put some of my clothes on assignment. My scheduled time passed as I sat there reading a book. Before I knew it, I looked up and 45 minutes had passed. I had to be starting an assignment soon.

Although I don't normally deal with stress this way any more, I started to cry. I grabbed the next volunteer I could find and told her I had to get to work and it was 45 minutes past my time. She got the manager, and the manager helped me.

Of course, I was absolutely ashamed of how I'd reacted. I know I wouldn't have done it normally. The stress must have gotten to me. But at least the week is winding down and soon we'll all get to relax and enjoy the holidays.

Yesterday was bitter cold in Philadelphia, especially with the wind chill factor. Even though it was too cold to take a decent walk with my dog, Una, I did have to run around town on several errands, some of which came up unexpectedly, like getting more wrapping paper. I'm glad today is warmer.

We even got a little dusting of snow, not that you'd notice.

I'm going to wait until the last week of December to get myself a New Year's outfit. This is for two reasons. The first is that it's absolutely crazy in the stores right now. But secondly, I've been doing really well on the Weight Watchers plan, so I expect I'll have lost another couple pounds by then.

At this rate, I should make my final goal by the spring. Then it's just a matter of figuring out how to maintain it.

Yesterday when I was out, I picked up a new scale, made by Weight Watchers. It's really nifty: you can store personal information for up to 10 people, including your age, height and gender. When you step on it, it gives you not only your weight but also the percentage of body fat and of hydration.

Surprisingly, both my body fat percentage and hydration percentage were in a healthy range for a woman. I take that as a sign that the exercise I've been doing is helping get me in good shape.

This is probably also why some people look surprised when I tell them I still have 25 pounds to lose. I'm in pretty good shape, but I happy to be overweight for my height and body type. The truth is, I've come this far. Why not aim for getting in shape?

To me it's like climbing Everest and, 10 feet away from the top, saying, "I don't know. I've come pretty far. Why not just quit?"

I have no desire to be under weight. Even when I reach my goal, I'll be nowhere near the Hollywood notion of beauty. But I want to reach a healthy range for me, and I expect long-term health benefits. Besides, it will be a lot more fun to shop for clothes.

Think about dogs. They're always cute, whether they're in shape or waddling around the apartment. But a dog that's in shape will have more energy, be happier, have fewer health problems and be around a lot longer to warm your feet in the bed at night. That's what I'm talking about.

I agree that society has an unhealthy obsession with the physical body. But I don't think there's anything wrong with striving for physical fitness. In fact, I think that's a very good goal.

But enough lecturing. Just go out and enjoy the holidays. Don't be afraid of feasting (although you probably don't want to do it seven days in a row), and try to relax, everyone.

Copyright 2004 by Alyce Wilson

Musings Index

What do you think? Share your thoughts
at Alyce's message board (left button):