I continue to believe the vast majority of people try to do the right thing the vast majority of the time

I was thinking back to last summer when my mom and my mother-in-law passed away within 18 days of each other.

It was a pretty rough time, particularly coming as it all did in the midst of COVID, which prevented traditional viewings and funeral services.

I have a lot of memories from the summer of 2020, but one of the most vivid is the way family and friends jumped into action to help us. This mainly took the form of food, which as I've said before is one of the best things you can provide when someone is dealing with the loss of a loved one.

We received mounds and mounds of food. Some of it came in the form of heaping platters dropped off at the house, while some came from gift cards that were given to us. Either way, it was so greatly appreciated and reflected overwhelming generosity on the part of many people.

Now that we know what it's like to be on the other side of this equation, Terry and I tend to be more thoughtful (and hopefully more generous) than maybe we were before in these situations.

I had the opportunity to help recently when one of my new co-workers, Emily, underwent a thyroid procedure that had a somewhat lengthy recovery period. Emily has a husband and two young boys, and we all knew the last thing she needed post-surgery was to worry about how her family was going to eat every day.

So a meal train was organized in the office, and as far as I know, every single slot for many weeks was quickly filled by volunteers. Given what I had learned from my own experience, I jumped in right away to contribute a Grub Hub card, which (believe me) is going to go over much better than had I attempted to cook them something.

Anyway, the whole experience confirmed my belief that most people are essentially decent. None of us is perfect, and we all fall short of where we ideally should be. But I contend that almost everyone you encounter is trying their best under differing circumstances to be a good person.

And I always find that heartening.

The roller coaster ride that is your weight

A couple of years ago I lost 43 pounds on Weight Watchers. I was pretty happy about that.

Then, beginning around Christmas 2013, I started gaining it back. A pound here, a pound there. At first I was fine with it because I had gotten a little too gaunt, or at least that's what many people said.

But then I went past the upper limit of where I wanted to be. Then I went way past where I wanted to be.

And now I've regained more than half of what I lost, which is more frustrating than I can tell you.

I come from a family of solidly built Welsh-German people. We have big thigh and calf muscles, which is good if you're a runner/walker like me, but we also have have a tendency to be "stocky," to put it politely.

In December 2012 I weighed something like 215 pounds. Six months later I got as low as 172. I wanted to stabilize at 185.

But as I type this, I'm almost 200 pounds with clothes on.

Weight Watchers is a great program and I think it works wonders. But like any healthy eating plan, it comes with the little caveat that you actually have to keep doing it if you don't want the weight to come back.

I tend to eat healthy. I just eat too much.

So now I'm slowly trying to lose the weight again. I've already dropped a few pounds, and I'm hoping by the end of the year to be back at a comfortable, healthy number.

In the meantime, I have a whole closet full of men's medium-sized clothing that's too tight on me. Stuff I bought after my The Big Weight Loss of 2013 when I figured I would be the same size forever. I hope to fit back into most of it before the calendar turns to 2016.

Losing weight is actually relatively easy, especially for guys. Maintaining weight loss is a whole different ball game, and for me it requires a full mental, spiritual and physical commitment. I lost my focus over the last year-plus, and now I'm trying to get it back.

That's life, I guess. Sometimes you're good, sometimes you're bad. Some people say it's important to maintain that healthy number on the scale, others say you shouldn't obsess over it.

All I know is that when the number is low, I feel better all around. Nowadays I feel like my clothes are tight and I'm more tired than normal. All because I can't stop going to the refrigerator.

Or at least I couldn't do that for several months. Now I'm back under control...I think.

So it's back down the roller coast hill I go. Only this time, I plan on getting off once I get to the bottom.