A Going On

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~ Hal Borland

How many years did I start a new diet,
list things I would accomplish,
promise to do better?
More than sixty, I’d guess.
The one year I really restarted my life,
changed forever, was 2006/2007,
the December I had read
Overeaters Anonymous, 2nd Edition,
and intended to join after Christmas…
the who starts a diet before Christmasattitude. Then Sunday, December 17th,
I stopped at a convenience store named “Skinny’s”…
I kid you not! and got back in the car
with cappuccino and an apple fritter,
and I told God aloud, “This is stupid!!”
Then I consumed it, went to Sunday school,
and back at home I researched OA
as well as online groups. I made contact
with OA people all over the world,
local as well as in Israel, Australia,
California, and others.
The next Sunday, Christmas Eve, I fell,
hurting my left rotator cuff.
I knew what I’d done because ten years before
I had damaged the right one even worse.
I didn’t get medical help, fearing I wouldn’t
be allowed to fly to London in three days.
I made the trip, finding Internet cafes when possible
to report my food behaviors to new worldwide friends.
We did well, despite the painful arm and,
the trip and Christmas behind me, weighed a pound less
on reaching home. Weeks later
I finally attended an OA meeting, getting a 30-day chip
rather than the newcomer one.
Truly for me that year and the next dozen,
Year’s end was neither an end nor a beginning
but a going on, with all the wisdom
that experience can instill in me.