Years ago my mother, sister and I took a road trip to Colorado to visit another sister. During that girls weekend we went to see the movie "Under the Tuscan Sun". One of the quotes that stood out to us during that movie was the one where the main character says:
"They say they built the train tracks over the Alps before there was a train that could make the trip. They built it anyway. They knew one day the train would come. Unthinkably good things can happen, even late in the game . . . "
At the time my sisters used that quote to try to convince me to buy a wedding dress I tried on for fun, even though just months before my boyfriend at the time and I had broken up, and I was as single as a slice of cheese!
(Note: I didn't buy the dress...but a couple years later I DID marry the boyfriend!)
Lean & Green Mama seems like an ironic name for a blog that I am the author of. Just a few weeks ago my weight was knocking on the door of 300 pounds. Not exactly lean. Currently my pantry holds the industrial size package of paper towel rolls. Not exactly green.
But I'm building the train tracks. I'm not Lean...nor very Green -- right now. Not yet. But I'm working towards it. "Unthinkably good things can happen, even late in the game..."
In a few short month (4 to be precise) I will turn 40 years old. That is always a big birthday in terms of the impact it has on life goals and dreams. To say that I'll be 40 years old makes me finally realize.... 'hey, wait a second...I'm actually a grown up!' And a little more realistic (and sobering), 'hey, wait a second...if I don't turn things around, my life may never fully represent who I really am.'
A few weeks ago I was challenged to think about who I think I am vs. who I live like I am. And as I processed through that, I realized that all the convictions I believe, what I think is important, and what I want to instill in my children through my example...that is all stuff that resides squarely in my brain. But none of it is actually represented by how I live my life! I think of myself as an adventurer, a 'hippie child' of sorts, creative -- a writer, natural, healthy, strong & confident. But in reality, I am not any of those things...at least not lived out in my day to day life.
I'm not content with just living day to day while the person I long to be remains locked up in the corridors of my mind.
So I'm building those train tracks. I AM the Lean & Green Mama...even before I really deserve to be called that. But I'm getting there. I will arrive.
And y'all get to journey along with me!
