WITH THE LOVE OF A SON AND AN UNEXPECTED CHALLENGE, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!

In late January 2011, Luis was telling Andres about a challenge he had accepted to lose weight. The story started here: 

In June 2010, Luis was teaching a class for the American Bankers Association, Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He has taught for them for 10 years and recently became their Chairman of the Board...way to go Luis!  During this class Luis talked about challenges, not only in the workplace, but in life as well. He mentioned his struggle with losing weight...the same weight that has plagued him for over 15 years. A student named Kevin Bailey came to him after the class and set forth a challenge to "Do it!!! Lose the weight!!!" Luis had only met this man from teaching the class, but how could he say no, so he accepted. Kevin checked in by email every couple of months with encouragement, but it wasn't until December 23, 2010 (6 months later) that Luis got down to business and started a serious power walking regiment. As he told this story to Andres, he was proud to announce he had not missed a single day of his power walking.

After listening to this story and his Dad's plan of attack to win the challenge, Andres said, "That's great Dad! So you've been walking for over a month now, how much weight have you lost?" The answer was, "Well, I'm still working on that part!" A few days later Andres sent this email to his Dad.

Published with consent of the author, J. Andres Lobo, the most beautiful son any parent could dream of.

From: Andres Lobo 
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 2:41 PM
To: Lobo, Luis

dear dad,

i'm very proud that you are taking your work out regiment so seriously. I've wanted to have this talk with you for a while but i never could seem to get the courage to mention it, worrying that you might misinterpret my concerns.

first off. i love you with all my heart. you and mom are my greatest support and i owe everything to you both.

second off. since i was little i've always had a fear of losing either of you. as ive learned with age and talking to friends, most children (even older ones) feel this fear. i still do.

so here is what im getting at.

our health is all we have. it is the foundation for everything we do in our lives. it allows us the ability to see the world, spend time with the ones we love, and pursue our passions. in your letter you wrote to me, you believe that we have one time on this earth. i believe this as well. but the quality of our lives can be greatly diminished if our body is not properly managed or worst; our life can be cut short. since i was born i have grown up with a father whose determination exceeded any other person i've known. you always strive for excellence in yourself as well as pushing others to their potential. you were born to be a leader. you have worked so hard and i feel like you are finally starting to bear the fruits of your labor. i dont want to see your life cut short, unable to enjoy all your successes. you deserve the world dad, and i just want you to enjoy it to its fullest.

once again i'm very proud that you're power walking daily. exercise is very important for our physical and emotional health. but thats only half the battle. the other half is nutrition. just like exercise makes us feel good, good healthy food does the same. you are what you eat. i understand your days are jam packed and eating something on the go is sometimes the only option. but make those on the go snacks healthy! when you get a meal at a restaurant try to get something with lots of vegetables, a portion of meat the size of your palm (no thicker). the biggest thing i think you need to learn is portions. my nutrition teacher in high school said something that stuck. you can eat anything you want, it just depends on how much of that thing you eat. all this working out isn't going to do a thing unless you learn to burn more calories than you are putting in. maybe going to see your doctor or a nutritionist would benefit. they can put you on a meal plan that would ensure weight loss with your daily work out, and point you in a health direction of eating. dont think of this as a diet, its a lifestyle change. you will feel more energized, you will feel better about yourself, and you will put yourself on a path that will greatly reduce your risk of a heart attack, and greatly increase your lifetime and its quality.

i love you with all my heart dad. you have the determination in you. you just have to adjust some of that energy towards your health.

- your son,
andres

Luis responded to Andres with: "Andres, you are so special.  I will do so as my commitment to YOU!  I am ALL IN!"

Update: Luis completely changed his eating habits and has powered walked every single day since Dec. 23, 2010. He has lost 40 lbs.

This past June one year after the challenge was set, Luis saw his new found friend. Kevin congratulated Luis on winning the challenge and gave him a $1 coin to carry in his pocket as a reminder of his tremendous accomplishment and incentive to stay focused on his health. I later found out that Kevin had lost 50 lbs himself...TALK ABOUT PAYING IT FORWARD!!! WAY TO GO KEVIN!!!

TO KEVIN: Words can't begin to express my family's gratitude to you. With Luis' high stress job, diabetes on both sides of his family, and carrying the extra weight, our family has worried about his health for years. Thank you for caring about another; a person you barely knew. A person that is now living a much healthier life because of you!!!  So in the only words I know, I say, THANK YOU KEVIN - from The entire Lobo Family!!! We look forward to having Luis around for many years to come!

THE KALEIDOSCOPE: a treasure waiting to be rediscovered

One of my favorite things to do is browse through antique and consignment shops. My style is a mix of old and new.  Furniture, decorative accessories, clothes, etc., I love “things” with character; old treasures waiting to be rediscovered in a modern world. I admire the “mix” of the old, and the new, and the challenge of making them “flow”. Therefore, occasionally I will take the time to stop by and meander through, what may seem like junk stores to some, but for the treasure hunter, well...we know there are treasures just waiting to be rediscovered. 

Recently, as I was browsing through a few of my favorite shops in downtown Frederick, MD, I found the most awesome treasure; a kaleidoscope. You should understand, kaleidoscopes are my ALL TIME FAVORITE toy, then you can imagine my excitement as I spotted this "treasure" sitting on the shelf. As I examined this particular kaleidoscope, I have to tell you reader, my excitement grew as I noticed the shiny brass on the eye piece was worn a little dull, as was the brass surrounding the color wheels at the other end.  It was evident this kaleidoscope had been thoroughly enjoyed by its previous owner. I felt a connection to this person, I will never know. Of course I bought this special treasure; a beautiful treasure waiting to be rediscovered by another. On that day, I was thankful it was me.

On Christmas of 2009, I gave my children kaleidoscopes as gifts. These were not expensive kaleidoscopes, but the kind you may find in any toy shop. I included a note with my special gift to them that year, and thought I would share with you.

To My Dearest Children,

The Kaleidoscope:

This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE toy and I wanted to share it with each of you.  Ahhhh, the beauty of the colors; it brings me so much peace and joy to sit and watch the colors mingle, change, blend together, then burst into an explosion of beauty with one little turn. When the kaleidoscope is idle, it sits and waits, like a new adventure or discovery just waiting to be explored, with a new found gift of beauty to be treasured every time you look inside. My children, remember this always, the greatest pleasures can come in the smallest things. You are young, but life moves fast, so as you journey along through the path of life, stop and take the time to enjoy the simple beauty in all things.

With LOVE from Mom
12-25-2009

Stock Market -Throwing Darts...

With the stock market on a roller coaster...or more like a bottom out, this past week, Luis and Felicia were watching like hawks to see what opportunities might arise.  Oh yes, like father, like daughter.  They have been researching companies and deciding where to place the bets.  Felicia has a stock watch list on her phone and has been giving regular reports.  After watching a handful of different stocks they make the final decisions, one of which is Costco.  The make their purchases right before the market closes.  The next morning they wake up, hop on the computer, and are anxiously watching to see what happens when the market opens.  Much to Luis' surprise he realizes he picked up the wrong symbol and had bought Cisco, not Costco. Well guess what, the very next day Cisco reported record earnings and the stock jumped.  So the moral to this story; forget all the research...throw darts, you'll probably have just as much luck!

Home Grown Tomatoes and my Southern Roots

There is nothing better than eating home grown vegetables; especially the ones grown in your own backyard under tender love and care.  Tomatoes are my favorite.  I guess this story should start with my southern roots.  I grew up in Moore County, North Carolina where every year we had a garden.  We grew everything from tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, corn, every kind of bean, potatoes, onions, to well…you name it, and we probably grew it.  And if we didn’t grow it, we knew someone who did.  For example, we didn’t have peach trees, but it was nothing for my Mother to show up with a couple of bushels of peaches and say, “Guess what we are doing tonight?!?!?”  Over a summer we spent countless hours preparing home grown foods to be canned, frozen and/or pickled.  On occasion, my sisters and I would complain about all the work, but I can tell you my Mother had no sympathy for us when it came to gardening.  If she told you to weed the garden on Saturday morning, and it didn’t get done, she would send you right out to the garden in your Saturday night attire, including heels, to weed the garden before you would dare take that car sitting in the driveway anywhere!!!  It didn’t matter that your friends were already there waiting for you, she would just send them out to help you!  And no, I’m not kidding!  Ahhh, but then cold weather would arrive and we would eat our summer vegetables and fruits all winter long. Man oh man, they were the BEST!!!  Then over a hot bowl of homemade vegetable soup, or perhaps a dessert of peach cobbler, we would thank my mother for all the hard work she bestowed upon us.

So even though I now live in a subdivision 32 miles from Washington, DC that will build out to be approximately 3000 homes/townhomes that all look identical, except for the brick “fronts” and shutter colors, and have yards the size of postage stamps, you will still find tomatoes and peppers growing in my backyard. My husband enjoys doing the most of the gardening, but do I still know how to can tomatoes?  You betcha!!!  You can take the girl out of the south, but you can never take the south out of the girl. I will always be a southern girl at heart.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIFT I HAVE EVER RECEIVED!!

Thank you Robin Red Breast for the most amazing gift ever!!! You allowed my family an up close glimpse of nature at its best. Your most  unexpected gift and perfect timing had a profound and lasting impact on our family that will not be forgotten.

                                                                  As you built your nest in the flower pot of geraniums right outside our window, we watched. As you laid your eggs and kept them warm we eagerly awaited until all had hatched. With great sadness, we tried to understand beauty along with the cruelty of nature when two of your babies were found tossed from the nest. Nonetheless, we continued to watch with great anticipation as the two remaining babies were nurtured by both the mother and father Robins. We watched as the hatchlings grew from what looked like butterbeans with sprouts into baby birds with eyes that eventually opened. Downy fur turned into feathers and wings grew and began to flutter. 

Our family was on constant bird watch for weeks until the day arrived that I noticed the babies were on the edge of the nest spreading their wings. I grabbed my camera and went out to take pictures. The parent Robins were perched on the chairs chirping like crazy, and flying back and forth to the nest. Shortly thereafter, one baby bird fluttered from the nest, landed in a chair, then onto the deck floor. The other one soon followed.  The baby birds hopped and fluttered all around, eventually fluttering to the grass
below.  Felicia came out to observe and we stood on the deck and watched with worry as the babies sat in the grass.  The parent Robins were all around, but we desperately wanted to go get the baby birds and put them back in the nest.  However, each of us understood we had to leave it to nature. The next morning the birds seemed to be gone, and I must admit I felt quite sad.  Then a couple of days later, much to our surprise, Luis came running in to announce he had found them. We were all ecstatic to find they were alive and well.

                                                                                  What an amazing experience this has been. As I have tried to process my thoughts around this beautiful gift of nature, I can describe it as a roller coaster of emotion. From excitement when the nest was being built; a perfectly woven work of art, to great joy as the eggs appeared one by one, to awaited anticipation of the hatching, to euphoric elation as each egg opened and a baby bird popped out, to total devastation as two of them died, to an enchanted fascination watching them grow, to an apprehensive worry as they flew from the nest. A circle of emotion, sort of like life, don’t you agree?

As my youngest child (Felicia) is getting ready to leave the nest, I am about to become and “empty nester” myself.  My gratitude to this Robin family is beyond words. They have shared the most beautiful gift one could ever imagine…and WOW, what perfect timing.  A gift of understanding that your babies will leave the nest; this is part of the plan, part of life.  A gift of knowing this is not an ending, but a beginning for our children to spread their wings, grow as individuals, and travel their own journeys through life.  This up close and personal view of nature has been a greatly appreciated gift of awareness and personal enlightenment; as my children move forward, I am not left behind. My own path is simply taking a turn, and I am moving along my journey as well; a bittersweet ending to a new beginning.

…and so I say, THANK YOU Robin Red Breast, for the most beautiful gift I have ever received!!!

 

I'M HOT...

And I mean REALLY HOT!!! Oh how I wish I was talking about my looks, but if that day had ever arrived, it has dawned and gone long ago, haha. Just as I am getting ready to go down a new road on my journey through life as an "empty nester", my body decides it must go on a journey all its own. Oh yes, I am talking about menopause! The “change of life.” It’s a change all right!!!

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary’s definition:
meno·pause
Pronunciation: /ˈmen-ə-ˌpȯz, ˈmēn-/
Function: n
1 a (1) : the natural cessation of menstruation occurring usually between the ages of 45 and 55 with a mean in Western cultures of approximately 51
(2) : the physiological period in the life of a woman in which such cessation and the accompanying regression of ovarian function occurs called also climacteric compare perimenopause
b : cessation of menstruation from other than natural causes (as from surgical removal of the ovaries)
**Non-technical name “change of life”. 

Well yippie-yi-yeah, I'm right on target...in the mean of the Western Culture - 51 I am. That's contrary to any rumors going around that I'm 39. OK, so I admit it, I started a little rumor, haha. Seriously, the simple definition could read - Goodbye Periods, Hello Heat Wave. Add in temperatures well over 100 degrees over the past few days and well…I’m HOT people, REALLY HOT!!! This heat wave I'm riding comes and goes. I am just hoping it goes really fast, so I can keep moving forward and leave my “hotness” in the dust.

My life as a TWEETER! 9 days and counting…well maybe!

My life as a TWEETER! 9 days and counting…well maybe!

I am “Living and Learning” about life as a tweeter. My Twitter site consists of 23 Tweets, Following 19, 5 Followers, 8 @Mentions, and 1 Re-Tweet.  I am really on a roll, LOL!!!  Oh, and who knew there is Twitter Etiquette? Well evidently there is!!! Of my 23 tweets, 2 of them were sent to ask my daughter and a friend to please follow me.  My daughter promptly informed me it is not proper to send tweets asking people to follow you.  She said, “Mom, if people want to follow you, they will find you!”  I was like, "WHAT?!?!? You are my daughter and I can’t ask my daughter to follow me?!?!?!"  She said, "Well of course you can ask me, but don’t ask anyone else." I was thinking, (1) well heck, 2 days in and I’ve already broken twitter rules, (2) WOW, I’m glad I only ask one other person, and (3) man, I guess I have a lot to learn about this Twitter and Tweeting thing. I almost deleted my Twitter account right on the spot.  I was only in it for the fun and it quickly seemed like this was going to be more than I bargained for. However, I decided to stick it out a few more days and I have actually started to enjoy it.  I am following The Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Museums, all of our local Theatres, Washington DC, NYC, along with a few friends and family. I am beginning to see where life in the Twitter world can be beneficial. So not that I’m asking, because good heavens, that would be improper Twitter Etiquette, but in case anybody really cares my twitter name is DebbieWLobo. 

Update May 2015 - …still on Twitter and still breaking all the rules, haha!

THOUGHTS ABOUT THINKING, OR SHOULD I SAY "THINKERS"!
I mentioned to my husband, Luis G. Lobo, that I have never taken a Philosophy class and I am thinking about doing a "Study of Philosophy".  I, of course, know who many of the "Great Thinkers" are; Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Galen, to name a few, and have some knowledge of their philosophies, as well. However, I was thinking I might like to build upon my somewhat limited knowledge of the "Great Thinkers" and broaden my mind and perspective from an adult frame of mind. I barely got the words out of my mouth, and my husband hops up, runs...not walks, to his Library (yes, he has one) and brings out this 2 1/2 inch thick/1011 page book and tells me,  "You must start here". Then he leads me by the hand to his Library and shows me 15-20 more books to guide me in my study.  Oh, and if I have any questions or would like to discuss, just let him know.  OK, I wasn't exactly thinking about pursuing a PhD, but thank you Honey.  No dinner or laundry for you for the next few years, I'll be too busy reading, and THINKING!!!