Life is a Novel where the last page is ripped out....

I love music. I believe that it can be so soothing, and sometimes something that we can relate too so very much. I even believe from time to time that the artist who wrote the words to some songs was hiding in my pocket and stealing them from my very own life. Have you ever had that song come on and you think to yourself oh my were you here with me last week or were you hiding in my life last year when that happened?

If your answer is no, then I guess my friends are truly right about me and I listen to the words of my music much like a novel that I am reading. I believe that when the artists sit down and write these words for us to sing along to; that they are just finding a way to release their stories much like I do here with all of you.

There are some that I play over and over again to help me when I'm down or to remind me of where I've been or even just how far I've come. Like today when I listened to Kelly Clarkston explain the importance of our tears and why we must let them just stream down our cheeks when life has been to much for us. Maybe no one told you there was strength in your tears. and I thought of the many times the world has looked at our beautiful tears as a sign of weakness. And so you fight to keep from pouring out, but what if you unlocked the gate that keeps your secrets sound do you think that there's enough that you might drown? No one can tell you where you alone must go; there's no telling what you'll find there....and I remember again that that's the reason we are afraid to move on, go forward and trust the people that surround us because we want to know what's at the end of the road before we've even gone half way down it.

So, after hearing those words and drying the tears that I've decided are something that now shows our strengths and not our weakness's I smiled a sigh of relief. And if we are perfectly honest with ourselves doesn't it just feel great to have a good cry every now and then; don't we sometimes feel so much lighter afterwards that we swear we lost some of our Easter chocolates that we overindulged in, in those salty tears? I say we embrace them, let them flow and then smile and let it all go. As I thought these words to myself I heard a song come on that I'd not yet heard and once again I heard some words that reassured me that another has thought much the same as I. Rascal Flatts singing about life being much like a novel. He sang those beautiful words of life being that of a beautiful novel but then at the end the words he sang made the most sense of all. Life is a novel where the last page is ripped out.

With this my friends, I only came to one conclusion. We will never be able to read that last page, because it's not there but ripped out instead. Life is not a road that we can clearly see the end to in sight. It is a road that we must travel despite the bumps and the floods and the storms that stall us along the way. It is a road with a rainbow completely across it sometimes that makes us just want to dance; but in the split of a second that rainbow can change to a bridge that we just can't seem to get over because of the water that stands in front of it. The only thing we can do is swim for as long as we can my friends and wait for the sun to come back out. The good news though, is that if we keep swimming and don't let ourselves sink; we will be able to walk on dry land again soon....and once we're walking easy again...we might even get to run from time to time...

Oh how beautiful tomorrow looks....looking from today

I make plans today for weeks that are far in my future. I weigh food, count protein and carbs and log in hours of cardio and gallons of water on the charts that I make. It's how I ensure that I will be at my best to walk across a stage with a group of competitors that have chosen to show up on the same day.

I can tell you the calories, carbs, sugars and protein on almost every food that you would consider putting in your mouth. I can even break down how many pounds might be "floating" on your hips after your done if you want me to ruin the yummy icecream that your considering eating. I know all of these things because I've just studied nutrition and fitness for so many years of my life. I have mastered the ability to get a set of ripped abs, toned arms and a clean body with little toxins.

The body is such an amazing machine to me. I've lived in mine when it was heavy, too thin and even when it turned into a hard ball in front of me and housed a kicking baby girl. Which of course, I must share was the best moment in my life when I saw that "kicking baby girl" smile at me for the first time. It just reminds us exactly of the lengths our bodies can go to and the places it can carry us not only today but far in the days ahead.

A great physique in a crystal bikini with "too high heels" is the result of the discipline to maintain timely meals and millions of cardio minutes and strength training on a daily basis.

However, may we not forget the other reasons that we take care of our bodies for the days that have yet to come before us. May we prepare it for days when our not just ten years old little people want us to help them train to run as fast as the others on the track team or for the times when we have to spend the whole day with them swimming in the choppy ocean so that we can hang on to every year of their childhood before it slips away. May we be strong enough to one day walk down an aisle with them as we give them away.

Take care of your bodies my friends. It is but the shell of your heart and soul. It has many places to go that you have yet to even imagine. Places that will fill your hearts with joy so much you think they will burst. Your arms will be needed along this journey in many situations, keep them strong so they are ready to be filled; with happy smiles with sad tears and with weary heads that need a shoulder to fall on. Plan for the days that await you, increase your chances of being there for them, one little step at a time. Eat a vegetable, take a walk, lift a single dumbbell, but do something, anything to increase your chances of seeing tomorrow....for oh how beautiful it looks from today.