Admittedly, it was quite a large log that fell into my pond. One that brought little needful rest and even less consolation that life would ever return status quo ante. I turned the page, and... "Lo and behold!" an unexpected new chapter lay before me.
I was not a cute little 3 or 4 year old girl playing nurse with her dollies -- this was REAL. Dry weight and vitals were to be recorded each and every morning. Combined with checking for edema and ease in breathing, medication decisions would be made. I soon realized that I had become an unlicensed, live-in practical nurse.
My 87 year old mother was no longer just a simple matter of blind and crippled; she now had chronic congestive heart failure (CHF).
The cardiologist directed a low-sodium diet of 2000 mg or less -- daily. This alone was enough to engulf my time each day. But I knew I also needed to balance that intake with potassium -- daily. What was set before me, I felt, would soon become an all-consuming and overwhelming task.
About 60 days into it, I seemed to be adjusting quite well, when, "Lo and behold!" another new chapter lay before me.
My beloved husband saw an infomercial that perfectly answered his fitness needs. Seriously. I saw it and agreed that this was the right thing for him. In less than a week, we were diving into... INSANITY! I do not jest.
Here's the REAL question: Why am I saying, we? Yes, why we, indeed!
No sooner had I begun to get comfortable with a "low-sodium, equal potassium" style of food planning and preparation, then now having to accommodate Insanity's program of Elite Nutrition. This would require 5 equal-caloric meals per day of high protein, moderate carbs and low fat. And I agreed with this!!!??
Did I say something about a large log that fell into my pond!? I may be mistaken, but I think it was more than one!
Ah...don't take this wrong. I'm not complaining. I pulled it all off and am even writing again.
No, I am far more concerned as to why I would think that anything I engage in would ever be status quo ante. Why would I even entertain that as a possibility? That has never been the case in my life, and I should rest assured, never will be. It's simply not who I am or what I wish my life to be.
There are good reasons for this, I tell myself. Really? I query. Truly and assuredly, I reply. Truly and assuredly -- there is no status quo ante in my future.
*Status quo ante - Latin for "the way it was before."
