I Can {Still} Do Hard Things

Lately I've been realizing that I'm a lot closer to 40 than I am to 30, and that's been a little hard for me to face. I think everyone has that one birthday that smacks them upside the head and makes them go, "Wait...is that me getting old?" Granted, I know that I'm not old yet - no matter what my kids say - but for the first time in my life I can see it coming one day. And I've never felt like this before.

The last time I started losing weight and making healthy lifestyle changes I had just turned 29 years old. As I look back, I can't help but think that it was a glorious time. The weight came off faster, my energy levels were higher, and I only had 2 children (age 1 and 5). I was more in control of my days and my life in general. Or so I'd like to think.

If I am honest with myself - really honest - it was hard then, too. I had two small children who needed my constant supervision when I was home. I worked in an office 9 to 5. Ben had just quit his full-time job to finish school and was working weekends delivering pizza. I gave up a lot of comfort foods for a long time. I had to retrain myself to eat, to think, and to make exercise a regular part of my day. It was not an easy thing I did, but the sacrifices that I made paid off.

I can still do hard things. My challenges may be different, but they are not insurmountable.

There are still no shortcuts to health.

Great sacrifices still yield great benefits.

My family still needs me.

I still can't do it alone.

The biggest question I need to answer every day is this: "Am I still committed?"