Tis the Season to Be Cleaning

Most of the rest of the country knows when winter arrives. They don't need a calendar; they only have to look out their front door. But it's a little different down in the South, and especially here on Padre Island.

We look out the door and wonder when our plants will stop growing until spring and are we going to have to call the lawn guy for still another trim. Our snow is usually in the form of blowing sand. Stings as bad, but hey, we get a free facial from the biting sand, and our glow and rosy red cheeks are considered healthy. We don't hardly ever worry about frostbite.

That being said, most of us have decided to turn off the air conditioning and let a little fresh air in during the day. Since I had indeed done just that, I was very comfortable in my lounger watching Christmas movies and occasionally checking on the football scores. It was a very relaxing day..... and then I had to look up!

The amount of the dust and dirt on my now-turned-off ceiling fans was horrendous. Those that know me understand that house cleaning is not really my forte, and that I only seriously clean when even I cannot stand it! So you can imagine how bad it was if I had to use the word "horrendous" to describe them. I decided that Monday was not going to be wash day but dust day.

Now when you are a SWF, this is the time that you really miss not having a man around. The high ceilings require me to get up on a ladder to reach the fans. And because I am a short 4-F I must climb up a little higher than is comfortable for me, especially for my weight and age. I fell off a ladder once, right over the soft grass covering the septic tank. It was then that I learned that Erma Bombeck was right when she said the grass was always greener there! But I also fell down the school stairs (from my own carelessness and inattention) right before I retired, and I know how painful that is when there is no green grass.

Nevertheless, I was determined to do what I set out to do and to prove to all the nay-sayers that I may be turning 60 but I am still self-sufficient. However, being a little chicken about heights, I only went up to the second step, which was not high enough to be above the fans. I stretched and dusted as best I could, but then the trouble began.

What I want to know is this: how did all those rabbits get in to create all those dust bunnies?? Or maybe it was the blizzard of the Great Lakes that decided to come visit us at the beach. I only knew that it was sooo heavy that I couldn't see. I swiped the duster across a blade, then ducked as those bunnies decided to bounce onto the couch. I was coughing and waving so much that I forgot I was standing on the ladder.

Fortunately I caught myself before I fell off, but then I looked at the eggplant purple couch. Somehow the dirty gray didn't exactly match, so I climbed off the ladder and cleaned the couch only to remember that I had only dusted the first blade.

So it went for the next half hour as I cleaned the fans. Which leads me to the gist of this musing. One act begets another, and another, and so forth. Cause and Effect. Now I must re-dust the furniture, clean the floors and rugs, and since one fan was near the kitchen, clean the dirty dust that stuck to everything around it because of a layer of grease from cooking. By this time you realize you might as well go all the way and clean the entire house.

So it is with eating and food choices. Each choice we make with the food we eat has a cause and effect relationship with you and your body. Bored? Reach for the chips. Stressed? Zero Coke works for me. Ashamed? Well, don't let anybody see you eating those oatmeal raisin cookies.  And after many years of this behavior, you think that it doesn't make one bit of difference what you eat anymore because you have done it all wrong for years and why stop now?

I go see the lap-band surgeon in a couple of days. I think that I will start the "cleaning' of my body and eating habits. Before the surgery, you must go on a 2 week meal(s) replacement regimin to make the surgery easier (more on that next time).

I tried to be "good" during Thanksgiving, cooking more healthy, but it only lasted a few days. Temptations are tough this time of year. You meet with friends for snacks and drinks. Want a little something in that eggnog? Indulge, it only happens once a year! And did your mama happen to make her world famous cheesecake dessert? Oh yeah, I am going to that party for sure.

Because I don't have to worry about those extra pounds. They are going to start disappearing soon. My cleaning time is about to really begin. And from that point on, I will be in a permanent cleaning mode. No more seasonal weaknesses. No more binges. Only sensible choices can be made if you want to be successful with the lap-band.

Yep, tis the season to be cleanining. Fa La La La La - La La La - BLAH!