Surprising Kevin Perhaps For The Last Time

I hope this isn't the last picture taken with my brother Kevin

When it comes to going on vacation, I'm the kind of person who would much rather stay home and just take in the sights and sounds of life in my area that are normally overlooked in the day-to-day living to simply relax and enjoy myself. Loading up the car with a bunch of luggage, driving umpteen hundred miles to get to your destination, and then trying to cram in activity after activity to entertain yourself is not my idea of the perfect vacation. Don't you need a vacation from your vacation when you get back?!

But one thing trumps all of that when it comes to going on vacation: seeing your family! My wife Christine has family north of us and my family is split between west and south of our home in South Carolina. We try to make the rounds every year or so and it had been a couple of years since we went to visit my mother. stepdad, brother and sister who all live in the same town. So we decided to travel down I-85 (through some horrendous traffic there and back going through Atlanta!) to see my family over the Thanksgiving weekend.


Here's my family sitting around the table after the Thanksgiving meal

My sister Beverly was so gracious to open her home up for Thanksgiving when she heard we were coming and that we wanted to surprise Kevin. My mom had planned on going out to eat with my stepdad, Beverly and Kevin for turkey day, but my dear sister wanted it to be more special than that with us driving down to visit. She did an excellent job with the meal!


That's my pretty little sister Beverly who is two years younger than me

Mom cooked the turkey and brough ham and Beverly did the rest. They allowed me to cook up a batch of my mashed cauliflower and low-carb stuffing, although my mom and stepdad weren't very thrilled with either. Oh well, it wasn't for them to eat now, was it? :D

I didn't eat any of the desserts that were prepared because they were loaded with sugar and flour. But everyone made sure to tell me how mmm mmm good the chocolate pie and apple pie was. Not for me because I'm livin' la vida low-carb and those are just RAT POISON! LOL!


From left to right, my mom, my wife Christine, and my brother Kevin

We didn't have a whole lot of time together over the weekend because he had some odd and end things to do, but I was able to see my brother Kevin a little. As many of you know, he has had quite a year since being told by a doctor to lose weight or die. Despite this grim warning, Kevin has not lost a lot of weight yet and his health has paid the price.

I was very tempted to tell Kevin what he needed to do to shed those pounds and get his health in order. However, more than anything else, I just wanted him to know he was being thought about, prayed for, and wished well by countless numbers of people (mostly YOU!) who really do care about him and want to see him well. He wanted me to let you know he appreciates your concern and that he is going to try to do something about his situation. We can hope and continue to pray at this point.


Kevin's a big man who has had one doozy of a life so far

One thing that shocked me was when we sat down to watch a movie together as a family on Saturday night was when mom made a big batch of brownies. The aroma in the air was just too much for Kevin to bear, so he went and loaded up his plate with 4 large blocks of brownies with ice cream on top. Keep in mind he's a Type 2 diabetic and morbidly obese! Oh, you don't know how much I wanted to scream, "NOOOOOOO!!! YOU DON'T NEED THAT, KEVIN!!!" But I bit my lip and remained silent.


My beautiful Christine with my brother Kevin

I learned a long time ago that you can't force someone to change who isn't ready to change. They have to be ready and it's our job to serve as an example until they are. That's all I have left to hope for at this point. Kevin is a 39-year old man who doesn't need someone to hold his hand about what to do with his life. He alone makes the decisions about his life and he will have to face the consequences of his actions at some point. Hopefully he'll have a "later" to get to it.

It was so good to see my skinny momma looking so good following her gastric bypass surgery three years ago. But the woman eats worse than a bird does nibbling on about three or four bites of food and then stopping. Amazing! Yet she looks absolutely fantastic and I'm so proud of her.

My stepdad pulled out his glucose meter on Saturday to check his blood sugar and wanted to see what reading everyone else had. My mom was in the 160s, my wife Christine was in the 120s, and Kevin refused to have his checked (maybe 300+ after that brownie bonanza?!). So he came to me and his jaw dropped to the floor when he saw my reading was 86.

He asked me if I was feeling okay and I said I felt perfectly fine. He said that my blood sugar was a little on the low-side. I told him that's pretty normal for someone who is controlling his carb intake to manage his weight and health. Let's just say it left an indelible impression on him that may have him counting carbs and watching his sugar. THAT is the power of being an example for others to follow.

Overall, the time away was amazing except for the fact that I missed blogging for you while I was gone. But I promised Christine I would not blog, so I didn't. Now I'm back in the saddle ready to keep providing you quality content that you can use as part of your low-carb lifestyle. THANK YOU for giving me a few days off and I look forward to the year 2007 which will be here before you know it!

Hopefully, my brother Kevin will make 2007 his banner year for a comeback with his weight and health. Otherwise, I don't think he's gonna have any more chances. YOU CAN DO IT, KEVIN! JUST DON'T GIVE UP! DON'T EVER GIVE UP!