Today’s lesson is on compare and contrast. I will entertain you with two very different experiences on shopping. What does this have to do with wellness and running you say? Well…you know how my stories go…words laced with hidden meanings and health-related undertones.
In celebration of my 35th birthday this year in October, my mama baked me and my family up a ham with all the fixins. Mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, rolls, salad…and for dessert a zucchini cake frosted with cream cheese. Being a fan of the Cooking Light Dinner Club, I can assure you nothing that I ingested registered on the low calorie food list. After very nearly gorging myself to death during the delicious meal, I proceeded to open my gifts. One of them was a sweet card from my husband with a stash of $20 bills for an exciting shopping spree to be filled full of running shoes. “YAY for me!” I shouted in delight. I’ve been needing a new pair of running shoes. In fact, I had fallen off the running bandwagon for the last month with “broken down shoes” as my excuse not to go for a run. Okay-Okay. Maybe I had done a bit of spiraling downhill (with very little running in that spiral). My husband also very lovingly instructed “this money is to be used for nice clothes for work.” Dang it.
SUCKING IT IN…
Later that week I headed out the door cash in hand. I decided to get the clothes thing out of the way first. I don’t know about any of you…but there are certain things I like to shop for, shoes for one. Ahhh….nothing makes my day like buying a good pair of shoes. But there are certain things I stay away from-like pants and swimsuits. I contemplated calling my Healthcare Provider for a Z pack….not an antibiotic like you are probably thinking, but an antidepressant. Nothing good comes from trying on pants and swimsuits in my experience. So there I was in the middle of a department store thumbing through slacks and eventually, with a sick feeling in my stomach, I drug myself over to the fitting rooms. Five pairs of pants later my sister, sensing something was amiss with me, called my cell as I was trying to stuff myself into a pair of black dress pants. “What are you doing?” She asked all happy and bubbly-like. Through a clenched jaw I answered, “I’m trying on my sixth pair of slacks. It’s not going very well!” After much whining peppered with swear words, a mildly concerned fitting room attendant knocked on the door of the dressing room and asked if she could be of assistance. “No. Uh…not unless you have a different body I can try on…but thanks for asking, really, I do appreciate it.” Thinking I’m funny, she laughed from the other side of the door as I wanted to cry. I blasted out of the store with a couple pairs of pants and got in my car. Ignoring the siren’s call of McDonalds and cursing the half a pig I consumed earlier in the week I drove in my depressive state to the local sporting goods store.
SUCKING IT UP…
With my body cold and shaken from the traumatic event I had just suffered, evil pants thrown haphazardly in the back of the car, I made my way to the entrance of the store. I was greeted by the warmth emanating from the shoe department. Somewhere in the distance I could hear a choir the store staff has strategically hidden in a clothes rack singing “hallelujah.” A magical force pulled me to the running section and suddenly I was one with the earth. My body now warm and previous trauma forgotten at that point, tears of joy invisibly slid down my cheek. I was at home. I was with my people. So many shoes to choose from! I purchased a pair and raced home from the store avoiding any eye contact with fast food establishments and then dressed for a run. Oh! It was like running on clouds! I didn’t realize how bad I needed shoes…they made all the difference in the world. When I got home I hopped on the computer and downloaded some good running tunes for my play list. I was in the zone. At this point, I called my brother and coerced him into running the Snow Joke Half Marathon. I needed a goal. I needed something to get me out there!
What can we glean from this experience is body image and the importance of having a positive one. You know what makes you feel good and makes you feel good about yourself. Mine happens to be shopping for running shoes and focusing on a race goal. Yours might be cooking, walking, meditation, or simply doing something nice for someone else. I also am very aware of what affects my positive body image. When reality slaps me in the face and I have to go up a pant size, Negative Nelly comes out and a rack of slacks grows horns and a tail. I have to buy these evil articles of clothing once in a while or employees will see me giving flu shots with holes in my pants. I muscle through it and I like to think it’s one of those “character building” situations my parents and boss tell me about that’s supposed to be good for me.
Do you feel good about yourself? Do you like where you are at nutritionally, physically, and mentally? Are you happy? If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to most of these questions then good for you!!! And if you answered ‘no’, don’t fret! It just means like me, you have room for improvement. We all do. This is what motivates us to change…what motivates us to do things that make us feel good and be better.
Have a great week!
Yours truly,
Ham Lover and Cake-Eater, RN
This post made me laugh. I just bought myself a new pair of running shoes, and I have such high hopes for them (Brooks, Glycerin, Women's Wide in pink...so exciting). I think people who are exactly where they want to be nutritionally, physically, and mentally probably aren't even thinking about where they are. They are cooking, working out, reading, etc. And, they are getting better every day. Thanks for the amusing post. Happy New Year!!!
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