I lived in San Diego a few years ago. It was a bit expensive at the time, so I shared a home and living expenses with room mates. My room mates included a married couple and a single mother with 3 kids. She had 2 boys... ages 8 and 9. She also had a little girl still in diapers. This little toddler had just learned to walk, but couldn't talk yet.
Having room mates was my way of dealing with the high cost of living. At the same time, I needed to feel like I could come and go as I pleased. I was single, so I didn't want anyone to tell me what to do, I wanted to mind my own business, and most of all, I just wanted to save money.
There was nothing wrong with the lady and her kids, but I went out of my way to avoid her. I wanted to steer clear of any kind of relationship situation. I did not want wind up with an "Instant Family". Everyday I just went to work and came home. For the most part, I managed to keep to myself. UNTIL ONE DAY as I was having my daily bowl of breakfast cereal... the little one came into the kitchen and started watching me while I was eating. She stared at me. If you've ever had little child look at you while you eat, you know what it feels like. It can be a little uncomfortable.
If you try hard enough... perhaps you can FEEL when a person is looking at you...and every once in a while, if you listen hard enough, you can practically hear them blinking as well. BLINK.....long silence......BLINK..........silence..........BLINK,BLINK. Oh yes, folks, there was a lot of blinking, and a tiny person staring at me, and well... let's just say, I wasn't trained for that.
I wanted to feed the child, but at the same time, I was not the father, so that made me feel just a little uncomfortable. I feel it's a parents responsibility to decide what and when their child is supposed to eat.
My thoughts at the time, went something like this: Look, I'm not the parent here. Where's that mother of hers anyway? FEED YOUR CHILD WOMAN! But then, I thought, look, this is an innocent, child ... JUST BEING A CHILD. So, I got an extra bowl. I parked her in the chair next to mine. I made her a bowl of cereal. She was too young to know know how to use a spoon yet, so I got another spoon and used it to feed her from her bowl.
Thus began a brand new daily ritual. After a while, It became the best part of my day. As time progressed, she learned how to use the spoon for herself. She also started learning how to talk. I was amazed as I observed the way a child's learning process improves with time. It's like watching a little plant slowly maturing.
I can not tell you how exciting it is to listen to a tiny human uttering so many of their first words. It's an awesome experience to hear a child say something for the very first time ever. I looked forward to our daily routine. This went on like clock work for the longest time. Every day same place, same thing, not a bump in the road, until one day, something very unexpected happened.
Like I said before...she was learning new words. One day, in one of her little broken sentences, she called me ..."Daddy". I froze because I had never been called that before. I was in a state of shock. I didn't quite know how to react, so I stared straight ahead... for a moment, trying to process what just happened. ( Looking back, it's weird how a simple 3 letter word caught me off guard like that. )
Eventually... I knew I would HAVE to look, so, I slowly turned my eyes in her direction. Through my peripheral vision, I saw this poor little thing trembling with fear. It was like she thought she had done something wrong. At that point, I couldn't help but laugh. I turned, looked at her, then gave her a comforting smile to let her know everything was OK. Five minuets later, she said it again... "Daddy." It was now confirmed... I had been officially adopted.
I don't know if anything like this has ever happened to you, but let me tell you from my experience, this is one of my fondest memories.
=========================================================
SO there you have it... that's the background story that lead me to write the poem that I'm about to share with you. Even though I wrote this poem several years ago, It still brings tears to my eyes as I read it today. It hits me where I live. I am sharing this because I know Somebody, Somewhere will appreciate it. It comes straight from the heart.
=========================================================
THE CHILD WHO ADOPTED ME
He told my mom he loved her
Before I came to be.
Then he got another woman
And left my mom and me.
They say he's in the NAVY,
he's always out at sea.
How could this man be cruel,
And do this thing to me?
Suzie's got a daddy,
Johnny's got one too.
But I don't have a daddy,
what am I supposed to do?
I don't have anything to give,
And I'll take up all your time.
But a child needs a daddy,
And I want you to be mine.
I want you to read me a story
And tuck me in my bed.
I want you to build me a snowman
And push me in my sled.
Teach me a little kids song.
Teach me ABC's.
Always say GOD bless you,
And wipe my nose when I sneeze.
Teach me how to talk.
Spank me when I'm bad.
Take me for a walk,
hug me when I'm sad.
Laugh and play with me,
Take me to the zoo.
Teach me animal names,
Tell me why the sky is blue.
I really want a daddy,
My mommy knows it too.
Of all the people in the world,
I pray Jesus gives me you.
Having the strenght of a lion
And the gentleness of a dove,
Means answering a small child's cry
When she needs a daddy's love.
MisterXman
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Dieting Weapons
Dieting is not easy...period. Although losing weight is possible, it's usually not easy. This creates a huge demand for all kinds of weight loss products, exercise equipment and gym memberships. Some stuff works, and unfortunately, some things do not work. Buyer beware. Do your research.
The weight loss industry makes billions and billions of dollars off people who are desperate to loose weight so they can get back into their skinny jeans. For the most part, I am all for someone who helps others reach their goals while making modest profit.
Although I am in great shape myself, it has taken me a lifetime to acquire the knowledge that keeps me as healthy as I am. Perhaps one day I will write a book. For now, I will share one...no two of my secrets with you. You don't have to change your current diet, just add these two things to your dieting ritual.
Number one. When you are eating your meal. Have an extra plate of raw vegetables on hand. It could be carrot sticks. It could be celery sticks. Cucumbers, tomatoes or any combination, they just have to be raw vegetables.
As you start eating, you don't need to do anything special. Just eat vegetables with every other mouthful. In other words, if you are eating a steak...one bite of steak...one bite of vegetable...another bite of steak...another bite of vegetable. It's that simple. You would be surprised how much this will help you with your dieting.
Before I talk about number two.......When you eat your desert, there is a signal that goes off inside you...it tells you the meal is over. Whether this signal is psychological or biological, I can't say. Maybe it's just traditional, who knows...but it's there just the same. Whatever the reason, everybody wants desert.
If you don't get that apple pie or that ice cream or that birthday cake... you will feel cheated. Perhaps your family will cheer you on for being strong and sticking to your diet...but something deep inside will start screaming at you. It will beg you, it will torment you, it will drive you crazy.
Hey!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? WHERE'S MY "THE MEAL'S OVER" SIGNAL? THAT'S NOT FAIR...THEY GET DESERT...WHAT ABOUT US? OH JUST ONE PIECE OF PIE, HOW MUCH COULD IT HURT? OH COME ON, WE'LL EXERCISE TWICE AS HARD TOMORROW
Later on, that night you might do a little sleepwalking...and that last piece of chocolate cake might just disappear. Hey...you know I'm telling the truth.
Soooo here is my second secret: This is a recipe that I created to satisfy my sweet tooth. I trick my body into thinking it's getting something sinfully delicious and loaded with calories...when it really isn't.
It tastes like ice cream, but it's cheaper and healthier as well. You simply take some bananas and slice them. Now place them in a big plastic bag and put it in the freezer. Flatten out the bag so the bananas don't stick together. Let them freeze till they are rock hard.
Once frozen, take the bananas and put most of them in a blender. Now add just a splash of skim milk and start blending. The result will be something that is a lot like ice cream. Only it's just bananas. If the mixture isn't thick enough, add more frozen bananas. If you want a milk shake equivalent, add just a little more milk.
If you want it to be sweeter, use the bananas that have started to turn black. They are much sweeter. Experiment with this formula and in time you will get it just right.
Here are some other ideas. You can sprinkle some grape nuts, granola, chopped nuts or Cheerios on top. You can also slice up fruit and stir this into the mixture as well.
You are not limited to just bananas as your base formula. You can have frozen strawberries as your base. You can have frozen peaches as your base. I find bananas are best because they are inexpensive and you can usually find them year round. I also like to combine frozen bananas with the frozen strawberries or frozen bananas with the frozen peaches.
So there you have it, two of my dieting weapons. I hope anyone having trouble with a diet will benefit from these tools. I invented them and they have served me well for many years. Share them and use them in good health with my blessing.
Mister Xman
The weight loss industry makes billions and billions of dollars off people who are desperate to loose weight so they can get back into their skinny jeans. For the most part, I am all for someone who helps others reach their goals while making modest profit.
Although I am in great shape myself, it has taken me a lifetime to acquire the knowledge that keeps me as healthy as I am. Perhaps one day I will write a book. For now, I will share one...no two of my secrets with you. You don't have to change your current diet, just add these two things to your dieting ritual.
Number one. When you are eating your meal. Have an extra plate of raw vegetables on hand. It could be carrot sticks. It could be celery sticks. Cucumbers, tomatoes or any combination, they just have to be raw vegetables.
As you start eating, you don't need to do anything special. Just eat vegetables with every other mouthful. In other words, if you are eating a steak...one bite of steak...one bite of vegetable...another bite of steak...another bite of vegetable. It's that simple. You would be surprised how much this will help you with your dieting.
Before I talk about number two.......When you eat your desert, there is a signal that goes off inside you...it tells you the meal is over. Whether this signal is psychological or biological, I can't say. Maybe it's just traditional, who knows...but it's there just the same. Whatever the reason, everybody wants desert.
If you don't get that apple pie or that ice cream or that birthday cake... you will feel cheated. Perhaps your family will cheer you on for being strong and sticking to your diet...but something deep inside will start screaming at you. It will beg you, it will torment you, it will drive you crazy.
Hey!! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? WHERE'S MY "THE MEAL'S OVER" SIGNAL? THAT'S NOT FAIR...THEY GET DESERT...WHAT ABOUT US? OH JUST ONE PIECE OF PIE, HOW MUCH COULD IT HURT? OH COME ON, WE'LL EXERCISE TWICE AS HARD TOMORROW
Later on, that night you might do a little sleepwalking...and that last piece of chocolate cake might just disappear. Hey...you know I'm telling the truth.
Soooo here is my second secret: This is a recipe that I created to satisfy my sweet tooth. I trick my body into thinking it's getting something sinfully delicious and loaded with calories...when it really isn't.
It tastes like ice cream, but it's cheaper and healthier as well. You simply take some bananas and slice them. Now place them in a big plastic bag and put it in the freezer. Flatten out the bag so the bananas don't stick together. Let them freeze till they are rock hard.
Once frozen, take the bananas and put most of them in a blender. Now add just a splash of skim milk and start blending. The result will be something that is a lot like ice cream. Only it's just bananas. If the mixture isn't thick enough, add more frozen bananas. If you want a milk shake equivalent, add just a little more milk.
If you want it to be sweeter, use the bananas that have started to turn black. They are much sweeter. Experiment with this formula and in time you will get it just right.
Here are some other ideas. You can sprinkle some grape nuts, granola, chopped nuts or Cheerios on top. You can also slice up fruit and stir this into the mixture as well.
You are not limited to just bananas as your base formula. You can have frozen strawberries as your base. You can have frozen peaches as your base. I find bananas are best because they are inexpensive and you can usually find them year round. I also like to combine frozen bananas with the frozen strawberries or frozen bananas with the frozen peaches.
So there you have it, two of my dieting weapons. I hope anyone having trouble with a diet will benefit from these tools. I invented them and they have served me well for many years. Share them and use them in good health with my blessing.
Mister Xman
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