No Regrets

My whole family had a brush with death last night.

No joke.

Here is what happened on our flight:


I am very grateful to God and to the Southwest Pilot who successfully landed our plane last night in Phoenix upon returning from our Leadership Retreat at the Sundance Resort in Utah. We were on flight #1344 from SLC - PHX yesterday (October 12th).
Here is what we THINK happened, of course we have had no formal confirmation from Southwest Airlines.
As our landing gear was coming down on approach to Phoenix Sky Harbor, a VERY loud and disturbing buzz/vibration began emanating from what felt like the landing gear on the left side of the plan (we were seated directly behind the left wing). After the buzz went on for over 2 minutes (I've never heard this buzz before and have flown 100's of times) the pilot appeared to be adjusting his approach drastically, and began banking hard and beginning to climb when he should have been leveling out and lining up for the runway. After about 3 minutes of confused passengers glancing nervously around and no information from the flight-crew as to what was going on the left landing gear sounded like it clunked down (we felt it under our feet) and the buzz went away, and the pilot then banked hard again and began to RAPIDLY descend and level out, as it appears he made the decision to land right then instead of abandoning the landing effort (so that trucks could go out and spray the runway with a foam-like fire-retardant liquid for a possibly belly-land with the landing gear UP). SO, from then on it was also like no other landing I have experienced, it began as a one-wheel land and we were going much faster than I have ever remembered a landing speed to be. The pilot came down first ON the left side, we believe he was testing the gear to make sure it was, in fact, down and locked before committing to the land and putting the other wheel down. That way if he sensed something was not right he could fire up the speed and take off again before the runway ran out. I seriously thought our left wing was going to scrape the runway and begin the plane in a summersault (sp?) and we were still going WAY faster than normal. The right wheel went down and the engines were put into full reverse thrust mode, and I think a few prayers of thanksgiving were uttered in the cabin and in the ***-pit also. I'm sure pilots have had lots of training on how to deal with these situations, and I KNOW that IF this is what happened our pilot was a hero and used all of his training to get us safely on the ground. Incidentally, before we landed the flight crew had told us that this flight was continuing on to San Francisco and that passengers continuing on could remain in their seats until departure. After we landed, ahem, the flight crew came on and said that the 4 people going on to San Francisco would need to off-load the aircraft because they were doing an "aircraft change". I bet they were. I bet that airplane that we landed in was driven directly over to the mechanics in the Southwest Hangar and won't be back in commission until they fix the landing gear issue. Anyway, that was our story. Whew! Of course our son was looking to us for how to respond to the situation and the "funny noise" and we just smiled and shrugged our shoulders and said "Wow, isn't that something, I've never heard that noise before! Cool!"

So, the title of this blog is "No Regrets" because of the incredible health journey my family and I have taken these last four years.  Take Shape For Life has allowed me to have the tools and support to make a FUNDAMENTAL DECISION towards HEALTH.  Four years ago I could barely SIT in an airplane seat let alone get the seat belt fastened.  These last four years our family has gotten healthy, I have been able to bring my husband home from his Architectural Project Manager job in order to homeschool our ten year old son, and we are living the life we always wanted to live.  Had our plane crash-landed it would have been OK!  I can tell you that if it HAD crash-landed my last thought would have been one of fulfillment and contentment.  It would NOT have been "If only I had lost the weight....."

I mean really, think about it.  All my life until four years ago pretty much my ONLY desire in life was "to finally lose the weight."  That desire had hogged up ALL my dream-power, ALL of my goal-setting, and MUCH of my waking thought-life.  Every year about this time I would be reading up on the latest "diet" and saying to myself "OK, Self, as soon as I eat all the Halloween candy I want, as soon as I stuff myself silly ONE LAST TIME at Thanksgiving, and as soon as I BAKE AND EAT lots and lots of Christmas Cookies and Fudge and go to the New Year's Eve Party and drink lots and lots of champagne, THEN I'm going to really get serious and LOSE WEIGHT."

What an A-1 "BS-er" I was.  Really.  No joke.  I could work my way through the ENTIRE holiday season through to January 1st DENYING that I had a true problem that needed TRUE attention.  And by January 1st I was busting out of my CURRENT size, you know, that size I swore I'd never go ABOVE, and be wearing my sweatpants and sweatshirts and that XXL tent-dress on New Year's Eve because nothing in my closet fit me and I refused to BUY the next size up.  So then I'd DIET.  I'd diet like the professionals.  I'd restrict and eliminate and limit and use every ounce of willpower I had to get through the first week of "Diet of the Year." 

And I'd lose a few pounds.  Sure, I always did.  We always lose a few pounds when we are gung-ho about that new whatever thing we are trying.

But then, time would pass, and I'd go right back to that oscillating pattern of "lose-gain-repent-repeat."

Until I found Take Shape For Life. 

Now I can listen to that Switchfoot song, "This is my life...are you who you want to be...." and say YES!!!   I am living the life I want, I am WHO I want to be!  And it is freaking AWESOME!

Are you who you want to be?

Rinse and Repeat!