MountainWings       A MountainWings Moment
#1291              Wings Over The Mountains of Life



Goodies
=======

I had just finished my run and exited the shower.

My five-year-old son asked me, "Daddy, why do you run?"

"I run to stay healthy," I answered.

"Will running keep you healthy?" he inquired.

"Have you ever seen Daddy sick?" I asked him.

He pondered his memory and in his brief time on earth,
he couldn't recall his father ever being sick.

"So running keeps you from getting sick?" he asked again.

"It helps, Daddy does a lot of other things to stay healthy,
Daddy eats healthy food and that helps too," I said figuring
that would completely answer his questions.

"You don't eat any goodies?" he asked, pausing for my answer.

I paused.

"Goodies aren't good for you are they?" he stated and waited.

"Not usually," I slowly answered.

"I only eat one goodie a day," he remarked.
"I know goodies aren't good for you, so that's why I only eat
one goodie a day," he said proudly.

I still paused.


Yes, I run.

Yes, I have an extremely healthy diet compared to the standard.

Yes, I also have a "goodie" problem.

What are goodies?

My son never defined them and neither did I.  We both knew.

Goodies are not just things that taste good.  Apples, bananas,
strawberries, oranges, watermelons, and the rest of the fruits
taste good, but they weren't what we were talking about.

We were talking about goodies, the things that taste good, but
weren't particularly good for you.  Usually, goodies are not
only not particularly good for you; they are often particularly
bad for you.

They taste good.  Real good.

I have a particular weakness for Mr. Goodbars.  I am a chemist
by educational training.  I understand more than most the high
amount of fat, sugar, salt, and other stuff in unhealthy excess
in each bar.  I understand the psychoactive effect of chocolate,
see the issue, Weeds and Seeds,
http://www.mountainwings.com/past/1184.htm

With all of that understanding, that little yellow and red
package often calls me from the shelf:

"Here I am!" 
"I taste so good!" 
"One or two of me won't hurt, you deserve it!"
"No one will know!"

You know the sound.  The voice calling you may not be from a
Mr. Goodbar, but you've got your own set of goodies.  We all do.

Too often I have said, "no more goodies for me." 

That held up fine until. . .

Until. . . I got weak 
Until. . . The pressure of the week seemed to melt away in the
           brown world of a chocolate bar.

Goodies allow us a brief minute of escape.
On the day that my anti-goodie resolve breaks,
I don't just eat one goodie, I eat far too many.

My son had a grasp of things.
He had set a limit.
One goodie a day.

I learned something from him that day,
"The law of the discipline of moderation."

I am NOT talking about the things that you should absolutely
stay away from, you know what those are too.  I am talking about
the things in the "goodie" area.

I preached a sermon once about resisting temptation.  I told the
congregation my greatest food temptation was Mr. Goodbars
because I liked them so much.  A month later, a member presented
me with a box of 24 Mr. Goodbars.  They remained unopened in my
house for weeks.

Until. . .


Know anyone with a goodie problem?

Forward this to them; my son has something to tell them.

~A MountainWings Original~

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