The All American Mom

In the throes of decluttering my garage, I came across a box of my son David’s school work, including this 7th grade essay, “The All American Mom,” for which he received an “A” and the comment, “Great Job.” It’s not often we catch a glimpse of our former selves, which can be motivating for our present selves.

David writes: “Have some millet,” said my mother, offering me what looked like a bowl of yellow mush. My mother, who is a determined person, has been persistently searching for health foods and exercise programs which will slim her middle-aged body and keep her healthier.”

(Not so different from today, where I am still searching and working for programs to slim my now elderly body!”)

The essay continues, “Once my mother makes up her mind, there is no stopping her. We now have in our house a stationary bicycle, a mini-trampoline, a heartbeat monitor, many boxes of sprouted grain cereals, and of course, millet. She is not only determined to exercise every day, but to eat this stuff. When I leave for school, I often see her eating a bowl of sprouted grain cereals, and when I get home from school, I’ll see her jumping on her mini-trampoline.”

(Hmm. The bicycle is long gone, replaced by a Gazelle, now also gone, and a Total-Gym, still in the garage but calling to reclaim it’s former space in the rec room. The heart monitor, which now includes blood pressure readings, still has a favored place on my nightstand, and the mini-trampoline is still here, mostly unused. Sprouted grain and millet are not savored of late, but perhaps I’ll rethink my menus. Green drinks now take an important place.)

The essay continues, “My mother has managed to slim her middle-aged body and keep herself healthier. Her 5 foot 9 inch frame, which weighed 165 pounds only a few months ago, is now 20 pounds lighter.”

(Gee, I’m actually over the 165 starting point from years ago and a tad shorter, but the goal of becoming 20 or more pounds lighter is still there. If I achieved it then, I can achieve it now!)

David concludes, “My mother is becoming quite a character with all of her ‘health-nut’ ideas, but I think it’s really working out for her.”

Yes, I’ve become a character. Some of my ‘health-nut’ ideas have fallen by the wayside, but on reading this I’ve revived my determination to spend more time at the gym, less time eating, and to see if I can revive that determination and unstoppable enthusiasm toward my goals.

Certainly, Science of Mind and Spiritual Mind Treatment can bolster that determination and pro-active approach to health and vitality. As Ernest Holmes says: If we wish health, we must embody the idea of health, the consciousness of health. Since the body is an effect and not a cause, we must know that bodies and conditions never move but are always moved upon.  We can declare, "I am an open channel for good to flow in and through me, freely, generously, cheerfully.”

With that in mind, I declare I have perfect health of mind, body and spirit. I treat and use my feet.

And so it is.