Wednesday, January 20, 2016

January 20th, 2016 Emotional Excursion

January 20th, 2016 Emotional Excursion

It was a day where I really needed to pull it together and make it through. I wasn't feeling 100%, but 50% needed to work. I'm taking the steroid pack as prescribed. The idea was that I would feel better as the day progressed, so I pulled it together.

A good friend and adviser suggested I take another day to rest. And although that might have been a great thing, there was too much on the schedule today. Like an athlete playing with a slight injury, I faced the day.

I had two high profile interviews scheduled for my radio show. One with a US Senator and another with an author of a book with historical significance to this area. Plus, it was weigh day, Plus I was scheduled to speak on behalf of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program at the noontime meeting of the local chapter of Soroptimist International.

Getting through the radio show was fine despite sounding noticeably different. It really doesn't matter how I sound at this point, especially with a temporary illness, but when what you do for a living depends so much on voice quality--when it's not feeling well, and sounds dramatically different, it seems like a really big deal. I acknowledge it's an irrational perception on my part.

Weigh day at the doctor's office was interesting. I wasn't expecting a 2.4 pound loss, but that's what the scale shows.  
photo 209 weigh day_zpsoul1mu7s.jpg
Who knows? I'm not in weight loss mode. I'm not trying to lose weight. I'm eating well, keeping my food up even while feeling sick, I've missed quite a few workouts lately and I rarely can honestly say I'm getting enough sleep--maybe on the weekends, but definitely not through the week. These things, to me, would suggest a slight uptick in weight.

But it wasn't. I'm not complaining and I feel great weight wise. I really believe this turnaround from relapse/regain, this recovery, has made dramatic repairs to my metabolism. Whatever it is--the absence of refined sugar--the inclusion of more whole foods and less processed stuff...I don't know.

It's strange because I've always described myself as someone with a slow metabolism and I truly believe that was an accurate perception for many years of my life. It really proves to me on a personal experience level that metabolism can be improved dramatically depending on what we're eating. It's been a long process getting to this place. And I've needed every bit of this process. And it continues each and every day. I'm truly blessed and immensely grateful.

My short speaking engagement featured two others, an elementary school principal and the chief of police. My part was to simply share my experiences as a young boy in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. My big brother was Clarke Hodson. I wrote a little about Clarke in my book. He had a dramatically positive impact on my life. My experience in that program was powerful and desperately needed during a very formative time in my childhood.

I've never stood in front of a room full of people speaking exclusively about the experience and its impact on my life. I didn't really prepare a speech, it was only 10 minutes or so--but I did structure it on the fly, opening with humor, getting some laughs and then diving into a super scoped version of the story with a few highlights along the way. I wasn't sure what would happen.

Unexpectedly, it flowed from my heart easily, interrupted by emotional turbulence I simply couldn't stop. As I explored what Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Clarke meant to me, I fought back tears, trying desperately to stay on point. A few in the room were moved to tears--and that only made it more difficult to hold it together.

As I neared the end of my short presentation, I spoke of how Clarke and I stayed in occasional contact over the years. I spoke of how special it was to give Clarke a copy of my book. And then, I mentioned his untimely passing two years ago and how it was at his funeral where I discovered I had made a positive impact on him, just as he did for me. I gathered this from his family's insistence that I be a part of the family room gathering and sit up front, with them during the service. I was told that Clarke spoke of me as glowingly as I speak of him.

I'm so glad this program is set to start in this area. I hope and pray it positively impacts kids around here as much as it did me. It changed my life for the better, without question.

Exposing emotion and allowing those vulnerable feelings to be felt is quite the experience. On the way back to the studio, I grabbed a venti dark roast pour over with three tablespoons half & half. I enjoyed its warmth as I recovered from this emotional excursion.

I made it home this afternoon a little later than planned. I prepared a nice lunch, enjoyed it--finished a couple of things online, took some more medication and laid down.

I'm feeling well tonight. The additional rest I've made important the last few days coupled with this prescribed steroid pack has tilted my regular sleep schedule--but it's okay and it's temporary. I'm taking good care.  
  
My Tweets Today:






























Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
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3 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 21, 2016 at 5:09 AM

    You're eating so healthy and you're active maybe that's why the weight loss. I believe your body has a set point and maybe you've not reached yours.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AllysonBJanuary 21, 2016 at 11:48 AM

    Well obviously, if you could see me right now, you would think what does she know? I am in crisis weight-gain mode and trying so SOOOOOOOOOO hard to stop it...my take away from this is you are drinking water and coffee and your gut health is good which if I understand correctly DOES affect your metabolism greatly. I want to be able to just drink a glass of ice water and cannot for the life of me figure out why I just can't do it all day. I am so addicted to coke zero and diet a & w root beer. I do drink some other things like sugar free, stevia waters but I should be drinking just plain ice water all day every day. In my head I know this would make a difference to my gut health and my metabolism and weight loss. I have evidence right here on this web page in the form of you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LEEJanuary 21, 2016 at 11:59 AM

      Stevia messes with your gut flora and your metabolism. Dr. Michael Greger explains it in ne of his videos.

      Delete

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