...tiMe tO mAkE LiKe a tAmaGoTcHi aNd pUsH tHe "rEsEt" bUttOn...

My kids are all getting older. The days of diaper changes and Fisher Price toys are LONG gone. The days of going to story time at the local library EVERY Wednesday and wiping snotty noses are a distant memory. I have a huge walk in toy closet in my game room with so many toys that need to be donated...HUNDREDS of stuffed animals and lots of Barbies and Matchbox cars...toys that have not been touched in years. However, there is one little electric "toy" that still gets played with around here. In fact, I refereed a fight between an almost 15 year old and a 9 yr old this past Sunday over this toy...this ANNOYING, time consuming, beeping toy...the Tamagotchi.

My kids found some old Tamagotchis and replaced the batteries over Christmas break. I listen to endless jabber over how old they are and how much they weigh. I listen to Sydney give advice to Jake about what to feed his so it won't be obese. But mostly...what I hear...are BEEPS! When they need to eat, they beep. When they are sad, they beep. When they poop, they beep. When they are sick, they beep. Even when they die...THEY BEEP. I'm learning to tune it out, because unfortunately they are not getting bored with them. In fact, they are learning ways to keep them alive longer. They "pause" them because they use to die while they were at school. I use to wish they would die, but the problem is...when they die...all you have to do is push the "reset" button and out pops an egg...and a brand new chance to create a better Tamagotchi. No matter how many times you screw up...whether yours is fat or mean or eventually dies...you always have another chance as long as you have a battery.After I took kids to school this morning, I was walking through my living room in Pjs, an Under Armour jacket, and Uggs (I know...not a sexy visual). I was thinking about the things I want to change...things that I'm not happy with. I've been on autopilot for quite a while. I lost weight...I had a system...and I didn't really THINK much about what I did...I just did it. I've felt a bit lost which sounds dumb because this is what I do...but when it comes to yourself, it's different. As I got closer to my bedroom, I heard one of those stinkin Tamagotchis beep...not the hungry beep...the death beep...and I figured out EXACTLY what I need to do.

We all get stuck from time to time. We go through the motions and end up in a rut. We make mistakes and get off track. Sometimes we veer so far off track that we end up on a path we didn't intend to go down. It's natural to give up or make excuses. It's easy to sit around and wish we had done differently...or blame other people...or wish for an imaginary "reset" button for our lives. But here's the thing...it's NOT imaginary. We all have a reset button and just like that Tamagotchi...we can start over too. The Tamagotchi does not start over as a perfect "grown up". It goes back to the start as an egg and if you want a different outcome, you have to make different choices and press different buttons. You have to pay closer attention...even when it's inconvenient. It is the same with us.

I'm pushing the "reset" button. I need to start fresh. I don't need to tweak or try and find ways around what I know I need to do and I need to do it now...today. I dug through the mess of Victoria's Secret catalogs and pictures and magazines on my desk until I found it...my "pink book". It's the book that my friend Wes made for me as a gift when he moved away. It has 5 full months of workouts...6 days a week. It's been read and carried around and had drinks spilled on it and has notes written on it. I followed it religiously for a long time and then slowly I started doing things differently. I became a trainer myself and became more confident in my own ability to program for myself. I did really well for a long time, but I started to slip somewhere in the past year. I skipped workouts and made excuses. I was cocky and thought that I had it made. I remembered when I was training with Wes and I would get silly or lazy or "too big for my britches". He would always eventually "humble me". All it took was ONE HELLACIOUS HOUR and I would straighten out. He use to tell me that we needed to get back to the basics...back to old school, hard work...back to what works...nothing fancy. I could almost hear his voice saying that as I picked up that book, and so that is what I'm doing.Today, I'm starting over. I'm drinking more water and less Diet Root Beer. I'm eating less of the bad stuff and more of the good stuff. I'm holding myself accountable like I use to and I am going to do the workouts in that book...everyday...in order....whether I like them or not. There will be NO question as to what I will do each day...no guessing...no cherry picking workouts. I will treat my training like I use to...like a job that I can't call in and take a day off of. The "reset" button is pushed and I can't wait to see what happens!
~Marsha