“You are never too old to 
set another goal or to 
dream a new dream.” 
~ C.S. Lewis

Motivation — that elusive piece of the puzzle. I found it twenty years ago. I made a commitment to myself at that time to focus on my health. I was in excellent physical condition when Kathy and I married in 1985, but by 2003, all those chili-cheese nachos and polish dogs at the Little League field started catching up with me. Even before that, there were countless trips, most often on rainy days, to McDonald’s or Taco Bell with the boys. We could eat lunch or dinner, then the kids could run around in the play areas with all the tubes and colorful plastic balls. While they played, I often ate what they had not finished from their meals — cheeseburgers, fries, chicken nuggets, tacos, or burritos. It’s not good to waste food, right? Well,… I waisted it!

I don’t recall where I found it, but in early June 2003, I found the motivation I needed to make a change. What had been so difficult for so long suddenly became easy. I changed what I was eating, identified a few foods I would not eat, and started walking on a daily basis. For breakfast, I’d have a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries, strawberries, or dried cranberries. Each day for lunch, I ate a bowl of cut-up fresh fruit and a chocolate chip granola bar. I was open to just about any reasonable dinner, but I’d eat nothing after 7 PM. The foods I completely eliminated were pizza, donuts, and fast food, including Starbucks.

My effort paid off. By the first week of June 2004, I had dropped forty pounds. I looked better, and I felt better. What a significant reward for what seemed like such a simple lifestyle change. I did well keeping the weight off until the summer of 2008. At that time, a summer commitment helping a friend in San Francisco, which included sitting at a desk all day, restaurant lunches five days a week, and restaurant dinners twice a week, took a significant toll on my body. Then, on the last day of July, my Dad died unexpectedly. That took a significant toll on my heart. There were other factors, too, which left me with little to no motivation to do much of anything.

Here I am 15 years later. For the past few years, I’ve felt much like I did in the early 2000s. I knew what I needed to do to change things, but the motivation to do so was nowhere to be found. The pandemic didn’t help, but I can’t really place the blame on Covid. I chose to live a sedentary lifestyle, with little concern for what I was eating. Again, it all caught up with me. Now here’s the strange part.

In mid-March, I spent a week in Nassau to say goodbye to one of my former students who was dying of cancer. She has since passed. My physical condition made travel difficult for me. As happy as I was to be in the Bahamas, I felt miserable, but I ignored the feeling. Saying goodbye to my friend was difficult enough. It wasn’t until about a week after I got home that I noticed a change. I started thinking about my future, and what I want that future to be. Then, much to my surprise, there it was: the missing puzzle piece. I’m not exactly sure where I found it, but I’ve got it now, and I’m not going to lose it again.

Some people make New Year resolutions. I prefer to make mid-year resolutions. Beginning June 1st, I set out on the road to improve my overall health. Kathy is accompanying me on the journey. One year from today, I will turn 70. I want that day to be one of celebration, not only for having survived seven decades on this earth, but for achieving my goal (our goal) of good health. It’s always tough to get started, but with motivation, anything is possible.