Wrestling Blogs - Richard Rockwell

As wrestlers we are taught discipline at an early age when it comes to our diet and eating habits. We are taught to eat healthy foods and not stuff ourselves with junkfood in order to keep our weight down and stay in top physical condition.

I was no exception to this lesson, but I'll tell you about the one time I broke this rule.

Wrestling in HS, I learned to run constantly to keep my weight down and eat right, so I figured when I headed to college, it would be no different. Boy was I wrong. Keep in mind, I was 5'9" and going to wrestle at 118lbs after wrestling 123lbs in HS. I honestly thought it wouldn't be that hard of a cut, until I grew and had to cut from about 135. Doesn't seem like that hard of a cut, but when you have no body fat to lose, it can be quite difficult.

Anyways, while in college, I lived with my uncle and his family and had to drive 30mins everyday to school. This proved to be quite difficult for weight cutting, considering I am of Hispanic descent and they made Mexican food everyday. This was my kryptonite. I constantly would be smelling the food throughout the house and had to confine myself to my room all the time just to avoid temptation. To make matters worse, my grandmother lived down the street and would always be calling me to come and eat some food.

You see, my parents split when I was 2 and I had to live with my grandmother for awhile during that time, so my grandparents and I shared a special relationship because I was one of the oldest grandchildren in my family(one of about 35). They didn't speak a lick of English at the time but I lived there for about a year and can remember bits and pieces. I remember listening to my grandpa sing to my grandma in spanish everynow and then and remember taking a bite out of every apple my grandma planned on using to make apple pies with(about 100). Little things like that stick in my head.

However, she never really liked me wrestling in HS. Not because she didn't like the sport(my uncle was a state champ in WA) but because I was always so skinny. So, everytime I came over, she would make me something to eat regardless if I asked and I basically had to eat it regardless if I wanted to. And, she only made Mexican food, which is high in fat but too good to pass up.

Anyways, once in college, I knew I was going to have to put a stop to this without upsetting her. So, I would always make up excuses like I had homework or was too tired to come over. She bought them for a little while, but eventually they got old. It got to the point that she called my mom in OR and told her to make me come over and eat. I remember her calling and me having to explain that I needed to keep my weight down and couldn't afford to stray from my diet. She put down the guilt trip pretty hard and explained to me how I should never turn down my grandmother and how I had two options: 1. Got there willingly or 2. She'd drive up to WA and physically take me. Option 1 sounded really good after that conversation. My mom has 8 brothers and she was the toughest of them all so I wasn't about to let that happen.

So, I make the trip to my grandmothers and before I could even sit down, she had a plate on the table for me. Once I saw the food, there was no fighting it anymore and I ate. I won't lie, it was the best tasting food I had in a long time. My grandmother was happy and so was I. After I ate, I explained to her how I couldn't be doing this that often as I needed to maintain my weight and wasn't trying to avoid her, just her food. She explained how she knew that, but just wanted to see me since I had lived so close now and figured I'd come over more often. I made a deal. I'd come over every week, as long as she didn't try to feed me all the time during wrestling season. It worked.

Those were good times back then. Now, my grandma is extremely sick and has been for sometime. I found out Sunday morning, within the next couple of days she will most likely die, according to the doctors. She's had several strokes over the years and her body is simply shutting down on her. But, its her time and she's been ready to go. Her last time at the hospital(a year ago), she talked of seeing my grandpa and how he was calling to come to him. She told him she couldn't. Not yet. Our family still needed her here.

She was rushed to the hospital this past Easter(crazy because she was born on Christmas), and we were told it wouldn't be long. So, our entire family came to say our peace to her. When my turn came, I said quietly that she didn't need to make me food anymore and that I wasn't so skinny anymore. She just smiled.

I took a break from it all and went to eat some dinner at the hospital with my wife and brother. While eating, for whatever reason, I thought back to that time and how I turned down all those meals and how I wish I could go back and take my time, eating them all. Not because I was hungry, but because I would get all that time back with her.

Crazy how sometimes even the smallest memories can play a big part in our lives. So, to all you wrestlers out there watching your weight during the season, if grandma comes calling, it'll be okay to eat there just once because it may be the one you remember most.