STUBBORN LIKE MY SISTER

I still have Christmas fudge in the house. That is a great success and a great problem. It is a success, because, I have not eaten it all (yet) and it is a great problem because I have not eaten it all (yet) hmm.

One of my students came over and asked for help filling out a questionnaire for college. It asked her to list her greatest strengths and then greatest weaknesses. I surprised her when I said, “Greatest strength, stubbornness. You keep on holding on until you finish the task and I admire that. Greatest weakness, stubbornness. Sometimes you won't listen to advice or stop trying when you really need to do so.”

I think that strength is usually an upside-down weakness. My sister, Christi is a pharmacist. That is quite an accomplishment for anyone. It is very hard to make it through any kind of graduate school, but she is even more amazing than that. She entered college as a single mom with five kids, three of them were still at home. Her husband rarely paid any child support. She then adopted a baby grandchild halfway through pharmacy college. She graduated with solid good grades too. I think she belongs at the very tip-top of her class. Very few people understand what obstacles she overcame to graduate. But I know how great she is.

However, I tell her she only made it because she is a stubborn Norwegian. Her task was impossible, but she was too slow and stubborn to know that, so she just kept going anyway. Then she graduated. She knows I too had 4 Norwegian grandparents and am stubborn, so she just smiles knowingly at me.

When I'm trying to Find Normal, in relation to my living and eating, I need the good side of stubbornness. I need to go and fall down and keep on and fall down. Then I need to keep getting up, only one more time than I fall down.

My keeping on lately includes my desire almost every day to stop my sugar habit. I stop eating sugar forever--quite regularly. When I blow it and eat poorly for a day, I know I will have really bad sweet cravings for at least 3 days afterwards.

I desperately need to be stubborn during those days. I will blow it at times, but.... Here goes:

#1. I will get up and keep on, keeping on eating good normal food in moderation.

#2. I will hold onto joy.

#3. I will hold onto health and life.

I want to hold on to living the way I decide. I am choosing to Find Normal with all my strength and stubbornness. I'm gonna make it, just like my sister did.