Sunday, January 30, 2011

She Chose...Wisely

I've heard it said that what we are today is a result of our past choices. And what we will be tomorrow will be a result of the choices we make today. It's a simple idea. Kind of a no-brainer, in fact. But it's genius to someone like me who feels like a walking "no-brainer" most of the time.

So yesterday, at Target, the perfect profoundness of that statement hit me like a ton of...chocolate fudge! In fact, I was craving chocolate fudge at the time, contemplating which commercial grade chocolate confection could possibly tame the craving, wondering if this Target (not a Super Target) would have all the ingredients necessary to make my most delicious, mouth-watering home-made fudge since I had no ingredients at home since I had announced after the last batch that it would, indeed, be the last batch. My face grew hot. My vision blurred. My hands began to shake and my head got dizzy. Must...have...chocolate...

Then, suddenly, it was as if God or Tony Horton or a leg-warmer-wearing 1980's clad Jane Fonda intervened to save my soul. Or at least my waistline. There, at the corner of women's shoes and Valentine candy, was a bright, shining display of physical fitness: Buns of Steal, Power Yoga, Hip Hop Abs, Beach Body, Biggest Loser Body Make-Over, and yes, even an all-new Jane Fonda Fitness video!

I stood frozen to that spot as the display seemed to glow like a heavenly vision and a chorus of angels began their serenade. Only instead of the Hallelujah chorus, the Jello theme song sounded in my ears. "Watch it wiggle. See it jiggle..." And I realized they weren't referring to Jello brand gelatin, but instead they sang of the result of too many bowls consumed of that fruity dessert. Ah, hell, too many bowls of the whipped topping that was supposed to go on the fruity dessert but was sucked straight from the nozzle instead. And the pumpkin pie, and the peanut butter cookies. AND THE FUDGE!!!!

Quickly, before I could even acknowledge the sweet-talking devil on my shoulder, I grabbed one of the work-out videos that promised results in only 10 days and ran (jiggling all the way) to the check-out counter. I ignored the mocking siren calls of the Kit Kat Bar and the Reese's. I turned my back to the shiny temptation of the Hershey's Kiss and bolted out the automatic doors. I was free! I had made it through the entire Target store without a single break down.

So I made a choice yesterday for a better today. And today I choose an even better tomorrow. And in 10 days (because I really only have about 10 days worth of will power I'm sure) we'll see what that tomorrow looks like.