Whining

I hate whiners. Most of them will whine forever and never move from that position. Gives me a headache.

When I first began rehab, there was a notice on the bulletin board about a group that met once a week for people with breathing problems. I asked the head of the educational piece at rehab about the group and if I should look into joining it. “No!!” she said emphatically. “Not for you. They don’t do anything other than sit around and whine. You don’t need it. You’re not a whiner.”

I am proud of my no whining status.

In the rehab class, I am happy to prod anyone who is interested in joining me at the other rehab. Only one person has accepted my invitation. She is very overweight (260+) and has a genetic lung disorder. I was happy that she was going to workout with me two additional days a week. I liked her.

We met at the other rehab at the appointed time. I began to smell trouble when she would get angry when I talked with anyone else when we were together. We had to work out side by side. Conversations were a bit dull. She only watched the horrible TV shows that I would never watch and didn’t have much else to talk about except meeting men through the Internet. They were all losers and most were working a scam for money. She was always hopeful that “this is the one.”

She also wouldn’t go to the gym alone without me, which was also not a good sign.

I learned that she had been going to Weight Watchers for years and had yet to lose weight. She had a list of excuses. The fact that they go to Chili’s after the meetings wasn’t on that list.

She began to ask where I bought my workout outfits, tried to invite herself to my house for dinner, and wanted to spend time walking on the beach with me. I could feel her trying to suck all my energy from me. I have no problem encouraging someone to take control of their disease for the better but I did not want to be controlled and smothered.

She followed me to Trader Joe’s after working out one day. As she strolled right past the fresh fruit and vegetables, I stopped her. “Have you ever eaten an organic white peach?” She went right to the chips aisle and bought a bunch of crap food.

We worked out together for about a year. Excuses happened. We planned to met, I would rush to arrive at the agreed upon time then I would get a phone call. She slept in and wouldn’t make it. This happened four times in a row.

I’m done. I have offered support and put a lot of time and energy into her. The problem is, she wasn’t willing to put the time and energy into helping herself.

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