Written in 2015.
Finger in the pie
It has been nearly a month since I last sat down to write.
The summer took over, in the best possible way. I spent as much time as I could with my son, making the most of what felt like the last summer before childhood began to change. Museums, hills, mines, the sea, and lengthy gaming sessions. It mattered.
The cost of that focus was predictability. Diet and fitness slipped. I had lost weight through fasting and felt determined to make changes that would keep me around for as long as possible, but getting back into that headspace has proved more challenging than expected.
Around the same time, my wife started a new job. It was a significant shift for both of us. After 10 years at home, she returned to full-time work. We decided that I would take over running the house and looking after our nine-year-old.
So I did.
Days filled up quickly. School runs, cooking, cleaning, and shopping. Ordinary things. In between, I helped out where I could, including unpaid work connected to my wife’s job. It was enjoyable work, and we hoped it might benefit us as a family in the long run.
The result was that I had a finger in several pies. Writing stalled. Photography became occasional. Long-term ambitions were quietly set aside. None of it felt dramatic at the time, just necessary.
Health, though, is harder to defer.
I have struggled with weight for years. I had made progress, then lost it again. Walking helped, but it was not enough. Friends who were doing better than I were encouraging, but also confronting. It is difficult to feel inspired and disappointed at the same time.
So this is a line in the sand.
I have appointments coming up. Blood pressure, cholesterol, and early warnings I cannot ignore. These are not abstract problems. They are solvable, but only with attention and consistency.
Tomorrow, I simplify. Fewer pies. Fewer excuses. More care.
Sometimes resetting is less about starting again and more about finally choosing where your effort belongs.