Yesterday (Sunday-March 12, 2012) was an afternoon for honoring 3 young men who achieved the Boy Scout lifetime rank of Eagle Scout. Our entire church was treated to a complimentary pasta dinner.

The banquet hall was festively decorated with Blue & Gold balloons & confetti. The platter of salad & basket of fresh baked Italian bread were self-serve. I surgically eliminated the croutons for my & my husband's servings of salad then swapped my bread serving for his salad. (He was a very willing participant in the trade.) Thankfully the Italian dressing was served on the side and I only used @ 1 tbsp between the two servings. All the pasta meals were delivered to the tables by Boy Scouts. I immediately divided the ample portion of penne in half by literally drawing a line down my plate. I took one of the two @ tennis ball sized meatballs and cut it into tiny pieces and mixed with one of the sauce covered pasta servings. Wow, this was one very delicious meal (no sauce from a jar here)! The Boy Scouts even passed out trays of numerous kinds of cakes. I let everyone pass on by and what was left on the table was way out of my reach.

Even though I do not have a son, I have come to have respect for the years (@11) of weekly/daily efforts (meetings, projects, traveling, Praying for safety, popcorn selling, etc.) that families of Boy Scouts put forth. For me, the most touching part of the ceremonies was when one of the Eagle Scouts took the time to present his mentor's pin to a church member who was not part of the Boy Scouts organization.

OK, this was just one meal...but I know I made some right choices for the moment. I have to keep in mind that being on a journey to achieving a lifetime status of becoming a healthier person will require dedication of focusing on one meal (glass of water, workout session, balance of sleep/stress, prayer for wisdom & strength, etc.) at a time!

PS: The pre-planned slice of fresh pineapple for my dinner was even more satisfying for my sweet tooth than ever before.