Just Rick: January 2012

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Run, Rick ... Run

Last week's attempt at running eight miles didn't turn out so well, but I did learn a very important lesson.

Eating a bowl of wonton soup and then trying to run any distance at all ain't a very good combination.

So, today, I tried again and I actually made 8 1/2 miles before I was finally able to stagger back to my car. It was very, very hard and I certainly didn't set any speed records ... but I did it. That's all well and good, but that's not the point of this post.

A funny thing happened as I neared my own personal finish line. Almost back within sight of my car parked at the hospital in town, an older gentleman actually stopped his truck on the side of the road and started running with me. It was honest to goodness like that scene from one of the greatest movies of all time, Forrest Gump, where everybody joins in on Forrest's long-distance journey.

I saw you runnin', and thought I might join you for a spell ...

Thing is, he was telling me to take it easy and not overdo it, so I must've looked a fright, like I was about to keel over or something. Come to think of it, that probably wasn't far from the truth. He told me to take it easy, then got a little winded, turned around and headed back to his truck.

And that was that.

Monday, January 9, 2012

No. 56

Eleven years ago today, Jesse and Adam Houston entered the world. My life was about to change in ways that I could not possibly have imagined.

I'm afraid that they've taught me a lot more than I've taught them. They've taught me the difference between being a father and a daddy. They've taught me that the things I once thought most important aren't really that big a deal after all. They've taught me that no matter how badly things might otherwise seem to be going, there's always hope in a hug.

They've taught me what a farmer must feel like trying to herd chickens. They've taught me the value of teamwork with a spouse ...

If you don't come get these kids and do something with them, I swear I'm gonna pinch their ever-lovin' heads off ...

More than anything else, Adam and Jesse have taught me the meaning of a deep and abiding love that's far beyond description. They are my heart, my reasons for being. Happy birthday, boys.

Why Just Rick?

Jeanie said one of the nicest things she's ever said to me recently, and out of that came the title of this blog ... Just Rick.

I spoke at a local church, and during the presentation, used some personal pictures from a few years ago. My weight-loss journey was not the topic, so I just showed the photographs and moved on without mentioning it.

Later, while we were driving home, she mentioned the photos.

"They were amazing," she began. "I don't think I'd realized how much weight you'd lost until I saw them."

I laughed. Really? I've been busting my butt for more than four years now, and you didn't notice? Geeeee ... thanks.

"No, that's not what I meant," Jeanie said. "I never saw you as being fat. I always saw you as just Rick, and that's the way I see you now, as just Rick."

I wish I could say the same, that I saw myself as just Rick when I looked in the mirror once upon a time. Instead, I was the fat kid who loved sports but couldn't play any very well at all. As an adult, I was the fat guy who'd been embarrassed by my weight more times than I could ever begin to count.

Even now, the memories stick with me. They're motivation to keep going, even when a run is getting really, really hard or I just can't imagine doing another rep in the Body Pump and boot camp classes I'm taking.

Come on, Fat Boy ...

Just Rick.

At my heaviest, my worth was not determined by my weight.

Today, my worth is not determined by how much weight I've lost, although I'm glad it's gone. My worth is determined by who I am as a husband, a father and most importantly, as a child of the One True King.