I have been listening with interest at Oprah’s recent musings on her weight gain—the battle of the bulge happens to a lot of us!!!  Many of the overweight women that she has had on her show in recent years have said that they were so busy taking care of their families that they did not take care of themselves.  Life gets so busy sometimes that our health takes a backseat to our schedule.

I wrote a quote from one of Oprah’s show in my daytimer many years ago and just came across it recently—”The mother’s primary job is as a teacher, not as a servant.”  Perhaps as we enter this new year we might want to look at what we are teaching our children—good eating habits?  respect for our bodies? being respectful of oneself?  I think at times we don’t realize we are in “the servant” role, because we are not serving our children, we’re just attending to them and their activities.  I can remember spending as much time in my car as in my house when my boys had so many activities, and of course, it is always easier just to drive through for a burger.  I probably wouldn’t have to spend so much time on the treadmill now if I had taken the time to do something a little healthier!

How about we hop on Oprah’s best life coattail and take care of ourselves.  Slip off and take a walk, order that salad instead of fries, relax a little when the stress comes on, and do something just for you.  Make the changes when your children are little, so you won’t have to be like me and Oprah — fifty, fat, and frustrated!