A new year begins. We all know what that means. It means a response to the sticker shock we experience when we step on the scales. Resoution Number one: Lose weight.
Therefore, in the year 2006 we, along with our family, friends and co-workers, will lose at least 2,006 pounds, give or take a few.
Ahead of time, we already know that we will fall off the wagon. To make up for mortal sins of the culinary kind that are bound to happen, we will talk about dieting as we eat, thereby ruining many good meals.
Some of us will go to weight reduction programs, sometimes, and go to the gym, not often enough. Sadly, the pounds, like the tide that goes out and comes back in again, will all be back on our hips again.
Fitness centers love New Years and all those resolutions. In fact, they couldn’t survive without them. The cash registers are going “kaching” with money paid for full year memberships. My local YMCA has sign that says EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY. Doesn’t get any plainer than that.
For most of us, January first is the wake up call date. But not me. My wakeup call came earlier on Thanksgiving Day, the day my dog Suzi beat me in a 5K. And get this – she is older than me.
Every year the YMCA has a Turkey Trot first thing in the morning, a 5K (3.1 mile) run/walk to start Thanksgiving off on the right foot. We entered the walk portion this year. In years past, the run was for us, but I’m out of shape.
Suzi, a boxer-golden retriever mix with long dancer legs, is 11 years old in dog years, that is 77 years old in human years. I was concerned that she was getting on and hoped she’d finish the race.
Not to worry. She did great, still straining on the lead and eager to go when we reached the finish line. Along the way we managed to overtake a Golden Retriever and its owner.
But then, on the last leg of the race, a Pekinese and its owner, who passed us, doing a slow jog, passed us. The little dog’s legs were going a mile a minute, but she was keeping up. Suzi turned and looked at me and there was pain in her eyes, like how could you let this happen? She was utterly humiliated. Passed by a small dog. What is the world coming to?
The truth is, I was having a rough time just keeping up the pace walking. Everything hurt. Hello. Suzi wasn’t the only one humiliated. Being beaten by my dog, who is older than me, was a big wakeup call.
The last time I had a call that big was the year my son got married. The marriage was scheduled for March. On January first, I hit the gym with a vengeance. You never saw somebody so serious. It must have looked like I really cared about my health.
The real reason I beat myself up for two months? I wanted to look better than my ex-husband’s third wife. And, according to the photos from that eventful day, it looks like my mission was a success.
First marriages and now Suzi. I think I’m onto something. The resolutions that really matter, the ones that actually propel you out the door, are personal. A new year. A new you. That is great but it isn’t good enough.
To change the way you are, something has got to hit you where you live. A beloved dress that doesn’t fit any more. A dog who has white hair all over her muzzle beats you in a race. An old boyfriend says he’s coming to visit and you weigh more than the last time he saw you. Way more.
Hello, wakeup call. Time to get serious. Find the gym clothes. Hit the road, the gym, and the pool. And if you need a dog to go running with you, I’ve got one who’s ready, able and willing. I can loan her out but I need her back for the next big race, the one where I finish ahead of her.
Lucy Tobias is a freelance writer living in Ocala, Florida. She is currently working on a book “50 Great Walks in Florida”