You just gotta get up every morning with a smile on your face.....

and......that's been a bit of a problem lately.....

It's been one helluva winter.......

So, I'm just not going to talk about that.  
However, speaking of the things you gotta do when you get up every morning....I figured I'd share this little story with you....

Even though I said I wasn't going to talk about winter....I have to set the scene for my little story....

One frigid, icey morning last week when it was imperative that I arrive at the office at some ungodly hour of the morning--there just so happened to be a main water line break on the exact road that I needed to take to drive to work.  Even though I had planned on driving.....knowing that a good portion of  the road would be closed and being a bit concerned about the treacherous morning commute before the plows and salt trucks got to the roads, I decided it was best to take the trolley.   Unfortunately, no sooner did I make that decision....the early morning newscaster announced that the ice had brought down the trolley lines.   So, if I didn't want to drive-- I would be relegated to taking a bus.   But, that left me with quite a conundrum--the bus has to travel at least part of the road that was closed due to the main water line break.   The good news was that the bus doesn't have to travel the entire route to the tunnels since it has a special bus lane that takes it around the tunnels.   So, in the end, I figured that the bus was a better option than the car.
Thankfully, the bus stop is about 100 yards from my house.  And, even with the cold and ice, the bus was only a few minutes late.  I tucked myself in beside a neighbor and off we went...exchanging a few pleasantries and chit chat as we drove through the dark and icey streets.   Things were going pretty well until we hit an unexpected traffic detour caused by the waterline break.  The driver announced that he would have to radio in to figure out where he was to go.  So, he pulled off to the side of the road and the wait began..... 
The only thing left to do was to either answer work emails or surf through Facebook on my phone or enter into a chat session with my neighbor who I was sharing a seat with.  After about 20 minutes of doing the online stuff, my neighbor lifted her head from her book and sighed "This is definitely going to ruin my diet today!"    "I hear you!"  I said with understanding.  "I can't stop thinking about going to Dunkin' Donuts as soon as I get off this damn bus!"  she said with some measure of disgust.  "I might come with you!"  I laughed a bit.  "How does anyone stay on a diet?  How can I keep off the 5 pounds I lost since January 1 if I want to eat 5 pounds of donuts?"  she asked me--half joking, half serious.  "It's tough," commiserated.  "You know, I have to ask you---I know you lost a lot of weight since I met you.  How do you keep it off?"  she asked rather sheepishly.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell her my Lap band story but I didn't want to NOT say something helpful.  I thought for a minute about what I could possibly say that was truthful and helpful.   Then, I remembered one of the most important and long lasting piece of my success---and it has nothing to do with what I eat or don't eat.  "You know, it's the first thing I thing about when I get up the morning--keeping this weight off has to be part of my life--every single day--from the minute I wake up until when my day ends."  I told her with conviction.   I was being truthful....except I didn't mention that my Lap band is part of my first morning thought and many of my thoughts throughout the day until I lay my head down to sleep.  Some days I am successful in doing what I need to do and other days....notsomuch.  But....as long as I wake up with that as my first thought and keep it with me, I feel empowered.   She thought about it for a moment..."You know, I never thought of that..." she mused a bit.  "Yeah, I think that's been a big part of how I've been able to keep this weight off.  And, it was just as important when I was losing the weight too,"  I shared with her.  As I heard myself say these things, I realized that this was the best advice I could give anyone to help them be successful in losing weight or keeping it off or in making any major change in their lives.  We don't have to be perfect....we just have to make it a priority commitment--every single day.  "You know, I know that sounds hard but trust me, once you do it for awhile and you see results, it becomes a habit !"  I encouraged her.   "Thanks.  I am glad you didn't tell me that I'd have to follow some crazy diet!"  she said.  "Nope.  It's not always about the food....." I told her, my voice trailing off  in wonderment at my own words and wondering if someone would have given me this advice many years ago if I would have been able to do it.  I guess I'll never know.  
I may not be waking every morning with a smile but I am waking up every morning knowing what's important that day....and every day.   Hopefully, my neighbor can do the same.
Somewhere deep inside of me, I was thankful for that water main break.  It allowed me to once again realize just how my Lap band has changed my life....

Winter can stop now.