Detour

Detours.  Don't you hate them?  You're cruising along smoothly when all of a sudden something beyond your control mandates that your plans be changed.  This recently happened to me at, of course, what I thought to be terrible timing, but I am a believer in the old statement, "Things happen for a reason". 

I was cruising along 5 weeks into a 9 week weight loss challenge - and winning - and one week away from a major event we were handling.  When bam!  It hit me!  Yes, it literally hit me.  I had been working out in my basement (concrete floor) on my mini trampoline (socks only) with hand weights.  Finished with the weights, I placed them on a table next to the trampline then stepped of first with my right foot.  They say timing is everything and it certainly was for at the same moment my foot touched the floor, one of the weights rolled off the table and end-up square on my big toe.  It hurt baaadddd! 

I iced the goose-egg that was trying to show itself and watched the brusing encompass much of my foot - top, bottom, and end.  I assumed nothing was broken and hobbled in flipflops for the next week before finally becoming concerned that the pain was increasing instead of decreasing.  A trip to the doctor with x-rays confirmed that my big toe (or as the doctor referred to it, "The Great One") was broken at the first joint.  "A month," she said.  A month?  I didn't have a month!  I had events to coordinate and exercise to endure!

Detour.  Now, three weeks later, I am still hobbling around, watching my bruising diminish, and becoming more impatient.  While being on my feet for 15 hours for that big event was probably a setback, everything turned out beautifully and we received lots of great compliments.  As for the weight loss, well it has obviously slowed considerably which means not only will I not win the challenge, but I'll not reach the 9 week goal I had set for myself, but it will come eventually.

So why do I share this personal story on a wedding blog?  I want to share my lessons with you in hope that you will learn from my recent challenges.

1. Detours happen.  Even when planning fairytale weddings.
2. It is not the end of the world.  As a matter of fact, the changes will probably be better.
3. You don't have to do it all alone.  I learned of strengths my staff had that I didn't know they possessed until I was forced to give up some control to them.  (Great job, Meg!)
4. Examine your priorities.  I signed up to lose 10lbs in 9 weeks and 5 weeks in I had lost 7.  Even with a broken toe and next to nil exercise, I am down 12lbs in 8 weeks.  I had lost site of the fact that my goal was not to win the challenge itself, but to win in my personal goals of weight loss, which I've already done.  Yes, I want to lose about 5 more, but I have the tools to make it happen now.

~ Jami