Identities...

Last night on Oprah's Life Class she ran clips from an original interview with a woman who had come home from a jog in the morning, only to find that her ex-husband had killed her four children and then himself.   Not only was she suffering the horrible grief from her loss, but she was lost herself, because her identity was that of MOTHER.  She picked a date on the calendar to end her own life, but mothers of her children's friends begged her to reconsider, as their children might follow suit because of their own grief.  Oprah had as a guest another woman who had suffered a similar tragedy yet went on, remarried and had children once again. After the show many people wrote in (and circumstances documented and validated by the production staff) that this was the day they chose for themselves but after seeing the story, they realized that they must go on and find new meaning to their lives.  Fast forward 3 years: This woman had found love, remarried and was blessed with twins.  One of the stories: One can rise from the ashes of their own lives.

I listen to books on CD during my commute and just that very morning one of the lines was: "Until you have visited a pediatric ward at a Shriner's hospital (specializing in burn treatment), you don't know that YOU have no problems."  It was interesting to me that I got a double dose of this message - both on my book and again at night on Oprah's show.  There was some residual upset over what had transpired for me last week, and right there, on the spot, I let it go.  However, that being said, I have a friend who was permanently damaged in a car accident which also killed her fiance.  One day my knees were particularly bothering me and I stopped myself from complaining in front of her.  She said to me -" My pain is my pain, and your pain is your pain.  My pain does not lessen yours."  No, but it puts it in perspective.

 The other lesson I took from last night's show was that you cannot let your past define your future.  So, relating this to dieting (in my life it seems that all roads lead to dieting!), I was thinking about the Halloween candy situation.  I did go and put it all in a shopping bag and bring it out to my car and handed it over to the keeper of the department's candy dish.  Old me?  NEVER.  Another new thing (and a NSV): I had brought salad today for lunch, but they are (now at this moment!) putting out a spread for a staff lunch.  Old me: Eat what I brought AND raid the lunch, taking more up to my office to eat in private.  New me? I ate what I brought and I'm not even going to LOOK at the spread!

Breakfast: Tried something sort of new because I am out of LC cheese, but it was too much work because of the huge hole in the bagel: Bagel pizzas:  (3)  I am going to try it again with a "deli flat" or something with no holes!  Coffee (2)
Lunch:  Salad with oil, 4 oz turkey, popcorn (7)
Snack: apple, cheese stick, almonds  (4)
Dinner: chicken cutlet (5), broccoli and beets, chard soup
Snack: yogurt, banana, walnuts (3)
Total: 24

Please - if you can catch Oprah's Life Class, I haven't been disappointed yet - even when, by the previews of a particular episode, I thought I would be!

Miriam