Well, the “fast” is over. I ate a taco last night and some ice cream. I am staying down to one meal a day for now though. Still it has been surprisingly easy. I actually woke up this morning feeling like total sh** and I have no doubt it was last night’s indulgence.
I’ve been busy getting ready for Thanksgiving; lots of preliminary cleaning and planning. Yes, I do have post-its on each of the dishes that I’ll use to serve the food with the specific item that will go in that dish. I’m also getting ready for our engagement pictures which will be next weekend. I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow for the first time in like 6 months, so that’s pretty exciting. I’ll have a couple of meetings tomorrow and then, I think I’ll clean bathrooms (fun!).
Now, I have yet to mention this whole thing, but I am absolutely torn up about this Penn State business. I can’t even being to wrap my head around the psychology of an entity, coaches, or people in general having so much authority that multiple children’s lives are destroyed. This morning, I was under the impression that this was all covered up so Penn State could hang onto their perception as a “successful program.” There are many ways to achieve success, but the BEST way, the ONLY way, is with compassion and regard for humanity. I can’t begin put myself into the GA’s shoes. He was living his dream with his idols and he made a bad choice, the easy choice, inaction. That is something he’ll live with forever. I have no sympathy for Joe Paterno or any other figure in this story outside of the victims, their families, and the missing DA, who was presumed dead in July (no body after 5 years). I have found myself thinking about Sandusky’s wife in all of this. What? How? I don’t even know. I have also been thinking about “that” generation and their way of dealing with things. I have concluded that the Penn State fiasco is a result of the perfect storm of group think, corrupt authority, generational coping skills and fear. So sad. So sickening.
Lastly, we are fools to think that this type of behavior (the abuse, the cover up, the corruption) is an anomaly. It happens next door to you and me in our businesses, in our government, in our schools and in our neighborhoods. That’s why it is so important that we hold ourselves accountable and do the right thing at any cost. What’s more important? A dream job or a child’s life?