Chocolate and Other No No's......

It has been a particularly difficult few days for me, and last night, after things finally quieted down, I went to my bedroom closet, reached into my stockpile of chocolate (not just any chocolate, Costco toffee, my very most favorite, and the only kind of chocolate I hide from my children) and shaking like some kind of drug addict, I took a piece and placed it in my mouth. Immediately, I felt calmer as if eating the chocolate somehow took away all the stress I had been feeling and made it magically disappear. My husband, watching the act, started laughing. I immediately defended myself by explaining that my actions were perfectly acceptable because I was pretty sure God made chocolate just for me because he knew that alcohol was against the Word of Wisdom. There was more laughter, the comment that I ought to get that put on a T-shirt, a good-night kiss and he was off to sleep, but I was not.

As I lay in bed with my mind wandering, I began to think about that piece of chocolate and how important it is to me each night after a long hard day. I only ever eat just one, but it gives me something to look forward to. You see, over the past year, I have been working hard to lose weight. I have lost nearly 80 pounds in that year, and, yes, I have still lost the weight by eating my one piece of chocolate. 

It then lead me to think about this in comparison to our children (if you're wondering if I ever got to sleep, I eventually did, but it took a while). Anyway, in losing the weight, our whole family has been learning to eat healthy. It is a lifestyle change and we are all open to it. The thing that makes us open to it, though, is that we still allow our children those things that are considered no no's in this type of lifestyle. We don't give it to them all the time, they get it once a week. We do our best to eat really well most days of the week, but every Friday and Sunday mornings, the kids get sugared cereal for breakfast, and every Friday night is our pizza and movie night. We order pizza, get snacks (candy is involved) and we watch a movie together as a family. My kids have no problem sticking to the healthier things during the week, because they know that come Friday, they are going to have a really fun day, and I am not going to lie to you, Friday is their favorite day of the week!

So here is the lesson I learned in all of this, it is okay that you aren't perfect in everything. So what if you allow your children computer time once in a while when people say they should be outside. So what if you feed them pizza for dinner when the neighbors look on in horror. So what if you buy a wagon full of girl scout cookies and hide them in your closet (okay, I didn't do it, but I was tempted. Moderation, of course, is still important in all things). It's okay to participate in the pleasures of life once in awhile and to allow your children to participate in them as well (as long as they are not against the law or against the Word of Wisdom. I am not condoning sin here). I am simply saying that you can still lose weight by eating chocolate.