Mmm, Epiphany

Okay, let's start with the least consequential but most shocking part of my life.  I'm actually losing weight.

Give that a moment to sink in.  If you know me or you've read this blog, you know that a) I love food, b) I've been fat for a while, and c) I'm extremely lazy.

But I had an epiphany (which at one point in my life I thought was the name of a fancy French pastry).  Actually, it was a two-part epiphany.  Part one was when I realized that my father's most athletic days were before he had kids.  And that doesn't sound like an epiphany, I know.  But he and my mother had me when he was 30 years old.  And he started gaining weight about that time.  So the man who played tennis and softball and basketball growing up turned into a dad who wasn't active or in shape.  And I realized that I could flip that trend on its head if I got in shape.  I could say that my inactive period was before children.  And I could play those sports with my kids.

Now before I get to part two of the epiphany, I'd like to clarify.  I love my dad.  I'm not saying that my childhood was terrible or lacking in something because we didn't play on a softball team together.  Although I'm sure my therapist would disagree (if I had one).  He was and is a good dad.  I'm just saying that it was part of the epiphany.

Part two of my epiphany (which no longer sounds like a real word because of all the times I've used it) was when I realized that I've never dunked a basketball.  I mean, it's not like I forgot that.  I just forgot that one of my goals was to dunk a basketball once in my life.  Literally just once would be fine.  If I dunk and then fall and break my leg so I can never dunk again, that's fine.  I just hope I get it on film so I have proof (and because injuries look cooler on film).  But anyway, I've always wanted to do that.  And I realized that once I turn 30, my chances of dunking for the first time are diminished by a lot.  Everyone I've talked to has said that the 30s are the decade where they finally felt like they weren't able to do the things they used to.  So I imagine that attempting something I've never done before will be all the more difficult.

Then I turned 29 in December.  And that really got me in gear for this weight loss thing.  I've set a goal to dunk a basketball on or before my 30th birthday.  And really, that specific day is pretty arbitrary.  If I dunk on my 31st birthday, I'd still be happy about it.  But it just seems like such a great goal.  And while I know the chances are slim, it's helping me take this more seriously.  I go to the gym now, I eat less, and I have my biggest meals early in the day.  And it seems to be working.  So I will dunk in December (or sooner)!  Although I probably won't.  But I am back to what I weighed when I got married in 2005.  So that's something.