Week 18 and Inspiration

Due to some unforeseen circumstances, training with J this week has been switched to today, so I made the executive decision to have my weigh-in today. I may still weigh in on Thursday...we'll see. But I was just too darn impatient and wanted to know if I hit the 50 pound loss mark yet! Well, I am overjoyed to inform you that I have! For the week, I am down 3.2 pounds for a total loss so far of 50.6 pounds! Now, I think I can go to Put-in-bay feeling good and with a feeling of more self-control....I don't want to lose that 50 pound mark and end up gaining next week at weigh-in, after all.

The Senior Olympics were held in Cleveland this year. I forgot they were coming until I went out to dinner this past weekend (celebrating with my day 120 cheat meal) and sat at a community table at a restaurant (by the way, I love the idea of community tables at restaurants. Highly recommended. You get to know your neighbors and enjoy some good conversation). A man was seated next to me at the community table and was wearing a Senior Olympics t-shirt. He was older, in his 60's, and enjoyed conversation with strangers. So, for the rest of dinner (until it rained and we all had to run inside), we talked with this man and listened to his stories. They were incredible stories. He was racing in the senior triathlon this year. The past two senior games he won 2nd and 4th. He says he takes his bike everywhere and has been everywhere. He's hiked up Machu Picchu. He's biked across Ireland, the US, throughout the UK and through Asia. He's been to the other side of the world and back, all either biking or hiking and staying in hostels. And the best part of his stories? He didn't start any of this until he was 40. He said one thing that really struck me, which was, "if there's one thing I regret, it's that I didn't start doing this earlier."

I think Oscar Wilde puts it best when he said, "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." This man is LIVING his life. 40 is technically the start of mid-life. He went half his life working a normal job, having a daily routine and just existing. Then, he started traveling for his job and one time decided to take his bike on his travels, fell in love with biking throughout the different cities and it just grew from there. He found his passion, stuck to it, and didn't let anything stop him. He has arthritis....but says the movement helps with the pain. He does what he loves to do and he does it well. This man is an inspiration.

I don't think I have ever left a dinner with such hope. Hearing about this man's life made me want to LIVE, not just exist. I'll admit, I've had some reservations about quitting my job to go to culinary school and start my own business....but this man took away those reservations I was previously feeling. I absolutely believe he was placed in that chair that was next to me at that table for a reason. It was the confirmation I needed so I could know I am on the right path. The exercise, the nutrition, the new career. It's all happening...and I now feel that this is the right time and it's supposed to be happening. I'm determined to be society's exception, not the rule. I'm determined to not allow anyone or anything stifle my creativity or passions. My passion will grow and I am determined to be great. I will live my life, not just exist. I will enjoy my time, not waste it.

40 years down the road, I will sit at a community table in a restaurant and have conversations about life with random strangers that will inspire them to live life, too.