How Could I?

How could I feel like I have anything to feel bad about when someone so close to me doesn't have food at home.
How could I feel self-pity when someone so close to me is so brave and got out of their comfort zone to try and make something of themselves, only to have the hands of fate throw an unbelievable string of unfortunate events in their face......yet they smile and remain positive...and hungry.
How?
All I can say is I have big-time respect for you sir. I know you don't have Internet....or a bed....or furniture.......or food. You will.
"It's OK" he said. "We get paid tomorrow. I'll be OK until then."
"Tomorrow is Thursday."
"Oh........"

My small struggles in life seem so small now and I feel so great to be losing weight and making new friends this year. I have a Grandson on the way and I'm so blessed. My focus this year is becoming crystal clear. I had fallen in to such a comfort zone in life, and it feels so good to be busting out of a rut.
I won a trip for two to Maui a few years ago. It was an unbelievable experience. They gave us a list of activities to choose from. It was all paid for so money was no factor in your decisions. I started picking things like a free Corvette convertible for a day and shopping sprees and riding horses.....then I thought.....I could do any of that stuff in my home town. This is a chance to do things I have never done and not only that, things I would never ordinarily do. I started over and selected a catamaran trip, a helicopter tour, and snorkeling. Were these things a little scary? Of course they were, but I'm so glad I did every one of them. All three experiences contain memories that I will never forget....swimming with sea turtles, flying over volcanoes, sailing in the clear ocean with dolphins all around. Sometimes you have to face your fear head on. So many times when I was younger I ran from the things that I feared only to have them reappear in my new environment. I showed my wife the list of activities and had her try to guess which ones we were doing. She guessed all the ones I would normally select. I laughed and showed her the ones I picked.
She said "You're kidding, why?"
I didn't expect her to "get it" but she did and it was so awesome!!!
If you want to see some cool pictures of a current trip to Hawaii check out Brian's blog.

Home From Trip

We just arrived home from Atlantic City this morning. We managed to get four hours sleep before heading to my Grandmother's to celebrate three birthdays. It was good to see family after the long road trip. Unfortunately my sister was ill and unable to attend. Get well soon Sis!!

Heading North

Mrs. Surf and I are heading North this week. I have meetings in Virginia for three days, then we are going to Atlantic City for a few days before returning home. While heading North, my weight is heading South. I've dropped over 20 pounds since the first of the year. It feels good to be losing weight. It has an effect on all aspects of my life. I have more energy all the time and I can see myself getting in shape and beginning to run again soon. I have a friend that runs almost every day, and I look forward to doing that before long. When I was in the Army, I ran about 50-70 miles a week. While I don't think I want to put that many miles in now, I would like to do maybe half that. One of my new goals is to run over 30 days in a row for maybe 150 miles or so. It will still be a while before I can do this, but I will do it.
I should be down to about 270 by summer. That will be over 40 pounds gone!! It is nice to be able to look back in this journal and see the progress. Day by day it doesn't ever seem like the weight is coming off, but when I can look back just a few months and see a 20 pound difference, I gain confidence in the upcoming months and I keep focused because I know I am going to keep losing the extra weight and reach my goals.
As an example of the attitude difference, there is no way I would have set a running goal three months ago. I am going to start logging my running in a journal. I won't be posting it here every day; I'll probably just post an update every now and then on here.
I'm looking forward to our trip this week. I'll tell you all about it when we return.

Month 3

It's the 1st of March and I weighed in at the end of February at 293. My March goal is 285. I've moved in two notches on my belt and my pants are getting very loose. I can see and feel many differences as I lose the weight. I still have a long, long way to go but it feels great to be well below 300. I was up to 311 late last year so I'm down 18 pounds so far. That's about 8 to 9 pounds a month. I'm drinking plenty of water and eating well but I still need to exercise more.
Mrs. Surf and I have a trip in two weeks to D.C. and then up to Atlantic City for a few days. It would be easy to splurge and eat too much but I will stay strong for myself and my family. I love my wife and kids and my motivation is to get in shape this year for my health and for them.
I'm planning a special surprise for Mrs. Surf in a few months...shhhhhh...she could possibly see this so I have to be a little careful. I'll tell you about it after the fact, I promise.
My youngest son is graduating from high school in a few months and my oldest son has made me a Grandpa. My oldest is 26 today; Happy Birthday Brent!!
I talked to my daughter today. She is going to be 21 on her next birthday. I am so proud of her. She has her own house already and a steady job and she is in college; you go girl!!!