The Past

There seem to be two distinct views on the past, one tells us not to forget the past and the other says put the past behind and start afresh. I don't know what the right way is, but I know what I've seen work and what I've seen fail.

I am a big proponent of continuing to move forward, yet I'm not always so keen on forgetting about the past. Not to say holding grudges or being stifled by the past is healthy, but to ignore the past seems rather foolish. In my case the old saying 'those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it' rings true. Moreover I have seen that 'forgetting' the past leads folks to selectively forget the past, as such forgetting the successes of the past and remembering the negatives.

Needless to say I am suspicious when someone says this is a new day and all that stuff that happened is over and gone. Personally I have seen this lead to short term morale boosts but long term failure. I've seen it in my own life and in many organizations I have studied. It seems the best thing, from what I've studied and experienced, is to intentionally focus on the past to see what was done well and what was not to look for ways to build the future.

So, maybe the saying for viewing the past should be a little bit different- maybe when we look at the past we should take the stance of not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Just something to ponder on a Tuesday morning.

Here we go...

It's been two weeks since I had surgery, 16 days since I've been to work, and a month since I used my teeth to chew anything. Well, this morning when I woke up all of that was true...

I still had surgery and haven't been to work, but I did eat real food about 9 this morning. It wasn't much, a half cup of egg substitute scrambled with two slices of non-fat cheese, but it was food nonetheless. I can only eat extremely soft proteins, primarily canned and blended, for the next week, but it is so much better than drinking everything as I have done the last month. I'm not getting one calorie more than I have had, but it is so satisfying to have something semi-solid to eat.

For those of you who would like to try not eating for a month, I can tell you that weight loss will occur if you do it right. In the first two weeks I lost 25 pounds. In the last two weeks I've lost 30 pounds. If you are math challenged, let me spell that out; in exactly 4 weeks I have lost 55 pounds. I don't have a stitch of clothes that fit anymore, in fact I am wearing an old web belt to hold my pants up. Get it? No holes, so I can tighten it as much as needs be.

I am very happy about all of this, don't get me wrong, but I have no idea what I'm going to wear when I have to go back to the office tomorrow. I don't want to buy anything, at least at this point, because I'll likely lose 50 more pounds in the next month. When you eat 3-4 ounces of food per meal, and that's all protein, you tend do do that.

So, triumphs mostly. Sure, the clothes thing is interesting, but it sure beats them not fitting the other way. Oh, let me throw this in... I have been fighting a killer case of vertigo for two days now. I called my surgeon and they said it was not a complication, rather likely an inner-ear thing. I've had this before, so I suspected as much, but I wanted to make sure it was nothing. That said, if you don't mind praying with me about this. There's not much medically that can be done, but I trust the Great Physician will heal as His will is fit.

Back with a Vengeance

I'm back. Less than a week out and I'm writing to say all has gone well. Don't tell any of my family, but I even snuck in a little work today (from home, of course).

Everything went extremely well with the surgery, and while I have another couple days until my first post-hospital follow-up, I think we'll really be sliding toward our normal routine later this week. All thanks to Shelly for taking care of me and for letting Grandma and Papa do their thing with the boys. Another huge thanks to Grandma and Papa; without them taking care of the boys this past week I don't know if we could have done it. And thank you all, my extended family, church family, in-laws, and friends for your support. Your prayers and well wished have certainly not gone unnoticed and there is no way we can ever repay our debt of gratitude to you all.

So I bid you adieu, as I think I'll take a short walk while there's still a few minutes of daylight.

Absolutely Pitiful

So any of you who attempt to follow our scatter shot attempt at a blog know both of us are terrible at posting with any regularity. That's nothing new, but I feel some guilt about it and, as such, must start out with an apology to anyone who has missed us. I completely understand you are all just clamoring to read these rambling, do nothing posts; and are completely appalled at our utter disrespect of your needs.

Now, on to business. I am having a bit of surgery tomorrow and would really like any prayer you all would offer on my behalf. Moreover, I would really appreciate you praying for Shelly, the boys, and my folks as they wait for my recovery and keep things moving while I'm out of commission. I guess like any dad I tend to worry about them more than myself, so please make sure you remember them.

Frankly, I'm less nervous than expected. In classic fashion I'm more nervous about being nervous than having surgery. Thankfully the anesthesiologist has some good anxiolytics, and that thought gets me through. This time my daily isn't completely getting me through my irrationals.

I'm done with all of the heart-felt garbage and too much information now. Time to crank up some T-Rex and dream of playing guitar like Marc Bolan did. Where's my top hat?