Heather Monahan

My son stopped me and asked me why someone would steal our SUV when we were flanked by sports cars on either side.

I stopped crying.

Then I grabbed his hand and we walked right back onto the elevator.

We'd gotten off on the wrong floor.

These were not my finest parenting moments.

Then I remembered a strategy that I taught myself in years prior.

When you're facing a difficult time, focus on something that you are looking forward to in the not so distant future.

Once you reach that, create something new to focus on next and look forward to that.

Dylan and I focused on the upcoming Michael Jordan Netflix documentary, The Last Dance, which we were both so excited to watch.

While I'd started off quarantine mostly optimistic and healthy, that ship had sailed.

I began eating worse than I'd ever eaten before.

I was downing entire bags of peanut M&Ms, and before I knew it, I'd gained 15 pounds.

My clothes were not fitting.

But we weren't leaving the house much, and I was able to hide it, unfortunately.

That was a powerful realization for me.

I was being held accountable when I would be out in public.

How was I going to hold myself accountable now that I wasn't going out in public?

With that accountability removed, I realized I was going to have to create a new approach.

With any goal, we need to hold ourselves accountable.

And that clearly included me and my health.