Toss The Cookies

I'm not feeling so good today.  Woke up with a headache and a general feeling of malaise.  Overload as a result of too many holiday 'goodies' maybe?  I can't eat the way I used to be able to eat, I know that.  Sugar is having a strange effect on me and coffee is making me sick.  I can no longer stuff any old thing into my stomach as the result of mindless eating and expect to get away with it.  Things, namely my physiology, are definitely a-changing.  My body no longer processes the junk in an efficient and unobtrusive manner ~ it is letting me know now that it is not pleased.  Changes in the how/what/where/why of the food consumption department kind must be made because I hate feeling ill.

My friend with the dependent 30-something son + 2 grandkids called me last night.  She'd been drinking and was slurring her words as we talked.  I wanted to suggest rehab to her but that suggestion never goes down well with addicts and so, as usual, I said nothing about her obviously intoxicated state.  All I know is, I'm tired of talking to drunks on the phone.  It turns out that her dependent adult son is going to have to move in with her, bringing his 2 kids along too, naturally.  The mother has long since departed the picture so she won't be a part of the package. 

My friend is concerned about having her son move in with her and especially so because she says the grandkids are a couple of spoiled brats.  Apparently, she asked the kids what they wanted for Xmas and received a list as long as her arm in return.  I know how that goes.  She asked me for advice and I gave it, and it's something I picked up from Donna Freedman's blog this week: 'Something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read.'  As a veteran of Xmas with my own children and as someone who too made the big mistake of confusing materialism for love, this well covers it IMO.  I may never find out if she takes my advice because I want to deal with her even less, now that the obnoxious and useless son is moving back in.  I feel sorry for her situation and all that, especially since she bought her dream cottage in Maine last spring and planned to sell down here and move up there as soon as feasible, but I'm not sure what one can do with a 30+ year old man (plus kids) who refuses to grow up.  The man has been a drain on her finances for years and years now, with no sign of the situation ever ending, and she has encouraged his dependency.  She never stressed to her son the importance of gaining an education, whether it be college or trade school or just getting a job and gaining experience, and the guy was allowed to drop out of high school at 17.   I ended the call with her last night feeling drained and stressed.  All I know is, I have my own problems and I'm not taking on more.  Anything I say in this situation will be wrong so why even bother anyway?  My friend spent most of the week uploading photos to Facebook of her enormous and decadent Xmas trees, one out front of the house and the other in her living room.  Of course, there is a sea of gifts under the one in the house....... distractions!!    Been there, done that.

So ..... health is uppermost in my mind this morning, which ties right in with my desire to drop some of the pounds I'm carrying, once and for all.  The hoarding is over and done with for me, no longer have the need to collect.  The spending is under control, no longer feel the urge to splurge.  I need a new challenge and that will take the form of improving my health, now and into the future.  I can't keep putting this off because, whether I like it or not, time is running out.  I'm beginning to skate on ice that grows ever thinner.