Silence...so far.

This week is "Silence"...so far I'm FAILING!

That's all I have to say for now.

Temperance...Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation

As I went through my week of temperance I wondered how I would write something about it. Does anyone really want to read my food and drink diary for the week? I don't think so. What I did decide was that I could let you know if/when I struggled with it.


I began my temperance week on a Monday so as to get a good meal at the mother-in-law's...what a mistake that was! The week before I began I had the menu in my head: Start off with her green salad with buttermilk ranch dressing. Then time for some fried chicken, biscuits and gravy, chicken and noodles. AAAHHHH...her menu rarely changes, but oh how I love her cooking. I don't really know the reason why, but we didn't go to Judy's last Sunday. Talk about disappointment!


That's not to say I didn't have a great Sunday dinner. Since Michael was working some overtime on Sunday from 7-1, I called him and asked if he'd like to meet his father and me at Chili's. I have to say I was quite proud of myself. I could have eaten more than my share of the onion strings appetizer and all of my helping of the their new "Sweet and Smokey" chicken tenders, but I ate only until I was full...not until I popped the button off of my pants.


I tried a different eating plan than my usual habits throughout the rest of the week. I still got up and ate my container of yogurt like I do every morning. (Thank you Jamie Lee Curtis for suggesting I improve my digestion as well as contribute 10 cents to help fight breast cancer...you can do that at cupsofhope.com.)


Since I teach straight through the morning from 8:30-12:30 without any kind of break in between, I'm usually starving by lunch. And when I think I'm starving, I wolf things down and usually don't even enjoy what I'm eating. I decided that if I allowed myself a little snack in the morning around 11:00 it might not be so bad. Why didn't I think of that before?


So, as the first graders leave my classroom and before the fifth graders enter, I have myself a granola bar. It's not the "high in fiber" healthy kind. I learned my lesson with those a couple of years ago! If you don't know what I'm talking about, try one and see what it does to your stomach. Not pleasant is all I can say about that! Anyway, my snack is one of those Quaker Oats chocolate chip granola bars. I figure it's better than one of the cupcakes or cookies that tend to end up on my desk from some sweet child who has decided to share his birthday treat with me.


Every day at lunch I made sure to eat slowly and enjoy what I was eating...baloney and lettuce sandwich, lean pocket, salad, whatever it was I brought that day.


It was right after school and while I was watching my evening television programs I discovered I might struggle with this temperance thing. Not much has changed since I was a little kid. I used to get off the bus from school and immediately have a snack, usually Little Debbie Swiss Rolls...not one package, but two! Funny thing is that I usually I wasn't even hungry. Now, as an adult, when I get home from school I don't have a couple of sweet things to eat, it's usually a couple handfuls of chips. Strange how your taste buds change. But what hasn't changed is that I'm not necessarily hungry. This was the week I decided to skip that little snack and wait for supper...which, by the way, I fixed every night this week!


I have to admit, just like when I was a kid, a bowl of chocolate marshmallow ice cream or a bowl of popcorn called my name nearly every night. I am happy to confess that only twice this week did I give in to temptation. I'm going to blame it on the small supper I had both of those nights...as well as the fact that Wednesday and Thursday are my favorite TV nights. It's hard for me not to watch my shows without munching on some popcorn.


I guess I should mention the "drink not to elevation" part of this virtue before I close. This isn't really something I have a problem with. Anyone that knows me knows that I'm not anti-drinking, but I'm not someone who drinks frequently either. We have some friends whom we visit with 4 or 5 nights a week. Rob and Eric enjoy their beverages a little more than some (not to say anything is necessarily wrong with that). Amanda and I might have ourselves a wine cooler once in a while. But since this was my week of temperance, I chose to "just say no" when offered something stronger than a Sprite Zero.

Now that my week of temperance has ended, I've decided for the most part it was a success. I feel I can say this because of what I experienced at the Don Sol Sunday buffet. Rob and I walked in and I saw all of that wonderful food and couldn't wait to start piling it on my plate...tacos, enchiladas, rice, chimichangas, fajitas, hot wings....YUM! I'm not lying, I put one of each of those things on my plate and was eyeing what I was going to get on my second trip. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, that one plate was all I could eat. Just one week of cutting down on what I ate must have shrunk my stomach or something. My eyes were definitely bigger than my stomach!

So, one week of Ben's virtues is under my belt...12 more to go. I start SILENCE this week...I'll let you know how that goes...LOL!!!

How I Got Here

Before I start blogging about my journey on Ben Franklin's 13-week course on self-improvement, I guess I should explain how I got here. I've had no major incidents in my life that have made me believe I'm going down the wrong path. I don't believe I'm a bad person or that anything I do is to intentionally hurt anyone. But I've come to a point in my life where I think I can become a better person just by focusing on the right things.



How did I discover Ben Franklin's program, you ask? Since I'm working on self-improvement, I must be honest, no matter how embarrassing it might be. The bathroom. Yes, the bathroom... and Reader's Digest. I believe I'm like a lot of other people...I do a lot of reading in the bathroom. Reader's Digest is usually my book of choice. There's always lots of interesting things in there!

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I was reading a book excerpt from "Ben and Me" by Cameron Gunn in Reader's Digest. It's bascically a humorous tale about a guy trying to live by Franklin's virtues. I figure if he can do it, so can I, right?

Let me lay out the 13 virtues Ben believed was a "bold and arduous project arriving at moral perfection."

1. Temperance - Eat not to dullness, drink not to elevation
2. Silence - Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation
3. Order - Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time
4. Resolution - Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve
5. Frugality - Make no expense but to do good for others or yourself; i.e. waste nothing
6. Industry - Lose no time; Be always employed in something useful; Cut off all unnecessary actions
7. Sincerity - Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and if you speak, speak accordingly
8. Justice - Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty
9. Moderation - Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve
10. Cleanliness - Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation
11. Tranquility - Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable
12. Chastity - Rarely use venery but for health or offspring; never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's piece of reputation
13. Humility - Imitate Jesus and Socrates

So, this week's virtue is Temperance. It's only Tuesday, so I'll let you know how I'm doing with that later in the week.

Wish me luck!!