Rutabaga
Rut
(D)espise
not the chastening of the Lord;
neither be
weary of his correction:
for whom
the Lord loveth he correcteth. . . .
--
Proverbs 3:11b-12a
A while ago I was visiting with a
little girl at our daughters' school. She said that her mom figured out that
she and I had gone to college together. That was 30 pounds ago . . . uh, that
is, I mean, 30 years ago.
"She didn't recognize you," the
little girl lisped.
"Oh, well, I've changed a lot since
college," I replied, smiling kindly.
Her little brows knit together in a
frown. "That's what she SAID!"
Ooh. It hurt. It revealed to me how
I've gotten more and more Horizontally Correct.
Late this summer, I got a bad
cholesterol count and was told for the first time that my blood pressure is
getting to be a problem. Then I ran into an old friend who lost 40 pounds
simply by going to Weight Watchers once a week, and walking every morning. She
looked terrific. I had to get me some.
So I joined Weight Watchers, and I
really like it. WAH! BOO HOO! SNIFF, SNIFF! But it works. It's not flashy, but
so far, so good.
In the last month, I've lost eight
pounds. I got wild applause in "group" and a celebratory bookmark the first
week, when the loss was six pounds. All right! I've had BABIES smaller than
that!
I've been a very good girl sticking
to my "points" and exercising. I'm using no-cal salad dressing (Walden Farms),
no-cal spray-on fake margarine (Parkay Spray), and enjoying every molecule of
every last-gasp vegetable from our garden.
But the next three weeks, the loss
has ground to a near-stop. In fact, last week, it was a mere .2 of 1 pound.
That's, like, three ounces! That's not even a Quarter Pounder - with cheese!
All that work for next to nothing! I mean, I could have had the HICCUPS when I
got on the scale, and recorded more of a weight loss than that!
So I was totally bummed when "group"
started. I was in a rut, and thinking about quitting already. The first week, I
had been charmed when one lady started crying over reaching her 10% of body
weight goal. I'll have me some of THAT! Then another gal told how much her
blood pressure had gone down. That, too!
But this week, what was going to
keep me on course? Visions of sugar plums, M&M's and brownies a la mode
were dancing in my head.
Then one of the ladies told about
her recent trip to a gourmet restaurant in Dallas. They served a beautiful side
dish that looked like potatoes, but it wasn't. It was mashed and piped onto the
plate, artfully, with a gorgeous garnish. When she found out what it was, and
how it was made, and realized it was that wondrous thing all Weight Watchers
adore - ZERO POINTS!!! - she wolfed it down with gusto.
What was this miracle food?
RUTABAGA!!!
EEEEWWWWWWWW!!!!
AAAIIIEEE!!!!!
YUCK!!!!!
Had I fallen so far, to have
RUTABAGA be the source of all excitement, the highlight of my day? Rutabaga, to
me, always has looked (and tasted) like an old playground soccer ball that's
been kicked around for a few decades.
The other women were all chattering
about recipes they had that were rutabaga-friendly, how you can spice it up,
and what all you can do with it. Rutabaga - the versatile taste treat!
EEEEWWWWWWWW!!!!
I couldn't help it. My shoulders
started to shake. I got the giggles, and couldn't quit. I looked down to hide
my smile, and saw my belly quaking as I laughed.
Heyyyyyy! It's not jiggling QUITE as
much as it did last week! The jiggle load is at LEAST three ounces smaller! I
must be making progress after all! I don't need no stinkin' rutabaga to get to
my goal weight!
That's the Lord, whenever I hit a
wall: somehow, some way, He makes me laugh . . . and lets me know He's there.
With Him, I can do this! I can do
anything! I can even eat rutabaga, and like it. NOT!!! †
