Tucked away behind a long stretch of highways sits Diane’s Bakery. Diane is a wonderful lady and a most excellent baker. I pass her bakery three mornings each week as I motor out of town. IF Diane knows you, she will take the fresh, almost warm shell of a jelly donut and inject it with the filling of your choice. She will frost it, wrap it a piece of paper and put it in a bag for you. The only real description I have of this creation is “corpulent.” There is no way to eat this donut while you are driving. You have to turn off onto a side street and eat it covertly and then spend the next half hour licking the frosting and filling off of your lips.

I wanted a Diane’s Donut yesterday morning really bad. I had my Cheerios and almond milk for breakfast. (Middle age has brought with it a degree of lactose intolerance.) I packed my back pack and headed to get gasoline. For whatever reason I kept thinking about Diane and her donuts and with each passing moment I was creating all sorts of justifications for pulling into her parking lot and indulging in her forbidden pleasures.

But I didn’t.

I kept driving. It didn’t stop me from wanting the D**n donut but I kept driving. When I made a commitment to mindful eating I am made a commitment to honoring myself. When I break that commitment I suggest I am not worthy of honor. It’s okay to want the donut, that’s a natural feeling. I have to decide if that donut is my best interest and the interest of those who love me.

Oh, I know what you’re going to say; “All things in moderation.”

The average life expectancy for an American, combined male and female, is 77.6 years according to a Harvard Medical School publication. With the alarming surge in childhood obesity, my granddaughter’s average age, as we speak today is 10 years less than mine. That’s scary, so maybe its example time. I beeped at Diane and waved. She won’t have to reduce her staff because I’ve spurned those amazing jelly donuts. Emotionally, I felt better than I have in a while.

I coulda eaten that donut………… But I didn’t. How about you?