An interesting week

 This past week was certainly one full of ups and downs; well, two weeks because I missed a Sunday Update. 

Last Saturday, I was at an event called Spring Fling that is held each year by the Harrisonburg City Public Schools to help recruit Cub Scouts for a pack we are getting off the ground. I had about 70 interested kids, which is a phenomenal result from the three hour time commitment. We had a great time out there and it was a great motivation boost. 

So the week started on a high note, and in all honesty started off pretty well. My ADHD meds are working and I can find myself focusing better. It made class a little better this week, for sure. It has also allowed me to focus on my nutrition so much better. I have been holding to my macros for a couple of full weeks now, which has never happened before. I am still procrastinating on projects like crazy (such as right this moment), but it is definitely better than it ever was. Plus, the lack of caffeine intake hasn't been a problem. 

The sciatica is still a thing, but I will keep rehabbing it and maybe see what can be done medically in a week or so. I tried to get back to the gym on Friday, but the pain came back so I will be modifying my workouts accordingly. Though I will say that I have been able to run again, and in fact have done better at running than ever before. 

There were some issues I had to deal with that were less than pleasant, which can happen from time to time. But, I also made it to the first round of interviews for a job opportunity that I like the looks of. I often tell people that I got into accounting because of the job security. It was the Great Recession and if you know anything about the workforce you know that accountants often have a fairly easy time finding employment. Well, it worked out for me, but now I think it is time I move on to something else. 

The week ended yesterday, though, and it ended in the best way possible. Teaching Cub Scouts to fish. 

There is just something about working with Cub Scouts out at our camp that makes you forget all the other stuff. It is a great reminder of the reason we all do what we do as Scouters. Anyway, enough procrastination, off to work on finals. 

Scouting's Changes

A ton has changed in Scouting over the years, you can't hide that. There is an old adage that the only constant is change. I am a progressive-minded individual, which may surprise some people. This isn't to say that I align politically with those that call themselves progressive in today's climate, but more that I am not someone who is concerned with maintaining the status quo. Think progressive in the way Theodore Roosevelt was progressive. Because the only constant is change I believe we must be at the vanguard of that change to survive. We teach in Wood Badge that we must embrace and lead change, so why don't we take that mentality in the overall organization? At the same time, change for the sake of change is never the best approach. There must be a good reason to make the change and to change the specific thing. 

One thing that has remained for Scouting is the mission: To prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law. Now, this may not have always been the mission; I don't know the history of it to really say that it has remained unchanged from 1910 to now, but it has always been true that instilling these values is the real purpose of Scouting, not just tying knots and building fires. The way I see it is that the changes the BSA has undergone in the past decade or so have been with an eye towards that mission. We have been making changes that embrace those values and open up these opportunities to more youth in America. So why the resistance? 

Change is a difficult thing. There are a lot of organizations out there that are conservative in nature. Again, not politically, but just that they don't try to keep up with modern society. We have been seeing it for decades as the membership in civic and social organizations has been steadily declining and the average age of their membership has increased. These organizations have a value in modern society, but they haven't adjusted to meet the times. Scouting is at least trying. 

Sometimes those changes aren't the best decisions. I think about the ill-advised new uniform shirt just released in the Scout Shop. At the same time, some of them are thoroughly thought out and well planned, like the newly released Cub Scout program that starts on June 1st. That will make things so much simpler for our smaller packs and lower the barrier to entry for the parents to get involved in volunteer roles. 

Whatever may come, I hope to be a part of the changes occurring. I hope to help modernize Scouting by leading the change in my council. I hope to help modernize both Freemasonry and the SAR by drawing in younger members with things they want to see. At the same time, we hold onto our core values and mission. 

Anyway, this was mostly just a stream of consciousness for the morning. I figured it would work well for some Tuesday Thoughts. 

First Masonic Monday

So, I am a part of several fraternal organizations. One of them is Freemasonry. Specifically, I am in a subordinate lodge of The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Virginia. I was Raised in January of 2023, so I am a relatively new Mason but I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience so far. 

I figured I would share some things about Freemasonry on this blog to demystify some things and also talk about some of the reasons I am involved in the organization. I actually have a post from when I was Raised from earlier in this blog where I touched on this a little bit. Since then, a lot has happened for me both in Scouting and in Freemasonry. 

One thing of note is how much the National Jamboree really made me want to work to improve these ties between our organizations. Both Freemasonry and Scouting have seen declines in recent years tied to an overall decline in civic and fraternal organization memberships. With so many shared values and history between the two, I have been working to strengthen those ties. In Virginia, at least, every meeting should involved some sort of program. This can be Masonic education, something from an outside organization, or really anything the Worshipful Master would like. So, with that in mind, I created a program around the connections of Freemasonry and Scouting and offer it to other lodges. I go, in uniform, and present this to them.

I also created a trifold brochure directed as Masonic Brothers outlining the connections and encouraging participation and/or support of Scouting. This brochure is being used by the National Association of Masonic Scouters, now, as a way to spread awareness. 

The last thing I did recently was wrote something called a "Short Talk Bulletin." This is something put out by a group called the Masonic Service Association and is used all over the country by lodges to supplement their programs. I wrote an article and also recorded a podcast where I read the information. This is all hosted on the NAMS website as well. 

Both of the organizations mean a lot to me and trying to bring them closer together is something I think will be an important thing for me for a long time to come.

Getting Older Is No Fun

 I haven't been to the gym in a few days. Not by choice, mind you, but because on Thursday my sciatic nerve decided to let me know it was there. I was going for a run in the JMU Arboretum around lunch time when I started to get a pain in my lower back and the backs of my thighs while I was running up a hill. I had to walk a little bit, then tried running again once the pain subsided some and it just came right back. So, I ended my run at this point and walked out the rest of my time. 

Me dying in the Arboretum as I walk for a bit,
though my face doesn't quite display the pain. 

Unfortunately, I did not do all of the things at that moment that would have probably been best for me, but I did try to take it easy the rest of the day after a hot shower. That night the pain became so bad that it woke me up at 2 am. Well, that morning was supposed to start off in the gym with some trap bar deadlifts. That isn't happening when you are dealing with lower back and thigh pain. So, I alerted my coach and said "hey, I'm taking it easy, walking and yoga for now and will continue to monitor."

So I went for a walk around my area for a little over two miles. I felt decent while walking, but when I had to jog across a street the pain just shot up my legs into my back. When I got home I did some digging and discovered what I had suspected, that it was most likely sciatica. So, I told my coach, we agreed to make the coming week a recovery/yoga week, and reassess as we go on. So, here I am, sitting in the living room when I am usually lifting heavy things and putting them down. I don't do idle well, but that I am now being treated for my ADHD (another story I will get into later) I am doing much better than I would have. 

Moving forward, I am going to try to make Sunday an update day for this blog where I talk about how my fitness journey is going. I use a Garmin watch and the Connect app they have (I am a proud League of Garmin member!) so I have all sorts of fun data. But let's look at weight for right now. 

Those are my daily weigh-ins for this week. Now, you can see that I relapsed a bit during this past year when you look at this graph. 

This is one of those times when I would tell anyone who thinks having weight loss surgery is the "easy way out" or the "lay way" that they are very much misinformed. This is a process and WLS is a tool, nothing more. It certainly helps that I can only eat a fraction of what I once could. The idea of going to a Chinese buffet and housing three plates while drinking three or four glasses of water is non-existent today. I ate 3 oz. of chicken, a half-cup of broccoli, and 3.8 oz of rice (half of a Bibigo rice bowl) and I was uncomfortably full for a good 45 minutes afterwards. I track everything I eat (most of the time) and I am putting in the work in the gym and on the track (or the trails, or streets) as well. It is a never-ending process.

Anyway, the weight gain is because the "bers" got me good, and it's because I was cocky about it. I came into it thinking "nah, I am fine during the fall, I love this season, it won't get me" even though my coach was warning the whole group about it. I was wrong, and now I have to make up for that. I need to get back to where I was and I am taking the steps I need to, figuratively and literally. 

April Fools!

 Yeah, I was fooling myself before that I would be more regular about posting. After my wife reminded me of the blog the other day, in between giving me a hard time about things that I absolutely deserved a hard time for, I decided to finally make a post. 

Things have been a little up and down, specifically my weight, but I am working to get back on track. My biggest problem is my impulsive behaviors which, another bit of news, likely stem from my ADHD which I have been officially diagnosed with. So, hopefully I will be getting some tools to help with that as well. 

The countdown is also on to a 5k fundraiser this fall for my council and I have been challenged to run it. I have spent 38 years with the mentality that running is for escaping danger, nothing else. So now running has become a part of my training regimen. 

Anyway, those are some brief updates for now. Hopefully I will remember to post some more updates, soon. Lots has been going on that I need to share, but for right now I am just going to post this brief update. 

Sitting in it

 I haven't been communicative with anyone, lately. I haven't kept up the blog, I have been relatively quiet at home. My bariatric fitness/nutrition group hasn't heard from me, I have just been quiet on all fronts. Some of this was the result of a technical issue, but more and more it has become me just sitting in my stuff. 

The semester came to a close this week. Today was the winter commencement at the university and I turned in my final assignment for the first half of my master's program a couple of days ago. This semester has been stressful in so many ways and I definitely started to backslide on my weight loss goals. The stress and anxiety built and I found myself feeling the depression that is common with it for me and I, of course, turned to food. I haven't been eating the way I should and it has caused some regain. 

I have been struggling with so much lately and this break is desperately needed. It won't be a real break because I will have plenty to do, but it is the sort of thing I enjoy doing. I will be working on things for Scouts and spending time with my family. That is what I am looking forward to and getting myself back on track. 

Let's do this

Tomorrow is December 1st. I have obviously been terrible at keeping up with this blog, but I really want it to be a place for accountability for me. So, December 1st will be a new start. A fresh take. We'll see how it goes. 

Over a year has come and gone since my surgery and I am not where I wanted to be at this point. My mindset on things means I am sitting here being overly critical of myself and chastising my choices. Make no mistake, it was my own doing that this happened. I let myself slip into some bad habits and as a result my weight loss was not as much as it could have, and should have been. 

On the bright side, a lot has happened since I was regularly updating this blog and of course I have plenty of things I can talk about. Whether it be as a bariatric patient, a Scouter, or other things in my life like Freemasonry, owning dogs, all that fun stuff, I can find things to talk about if I put my mind to it. So, I am going to schedule time every day to sit down and put down some thoughts on here. Let's see how long it lasts!