Believe it or not, school starts soon in my part of the country. Crazy, I know. I was working in the schooling room yesterday and thinking about our summer. We went to the beach where I actually wore a bathing suit instead of wearing capris like I did in this picture 20 something years ago. � Continue Reading...
Believe it or not, school starts soon in my part of the country. Crazy, I know.
I was working in the schooling room yesterday and thinking about our summer. We went to the beach where I actually wore a bathing suit instead of wearing capris like I did in this picture 20 something years ago.
I made these capri pants because there was no way I was going to get into a bathing suit in public. Even though it has been a long time since this picture was taken, I still remember that feeling.
We rode bikes as a family on summer evenings, took long hikes through the woods when there was a break from the summer heat, picked blueberries for hours, and stayed active all summer.
My time of reflection yesterday, which was frequently interrupted by one of my five boys asking me questions such as, “When you play War are you allowed to switch out one card for another if you don’t like it because that is what “J” is doing.”
(In case you are wondering, the answer to that question is “No, that’s cheating.”)
When my organizing time wasn’t spent negotiating card games or finding lost Legos, I reflected on how even though it has been over 15 years since I lost half my size, I have never lost the joy of losing weight, especially when I come across old pictures like the one on the left and compare it to the picture on the right. In the picture on the left, we had been at a church picnic for Halloween and I was absolutely exhausted. I could not wait to get home and go to bed. The picture on the right was taken after we had been to church, walked around the mall for several hours, and then stopped in at a birthday party for some friends. I still had tons of energy and was ready to move onto the next activities.
When I reflect on my life now as opposed to then, the little things I can do that I could not easily do when I was morbidly obese are still precious to me. Things such as:
♥ Chairs seem larger than they did when I weighed 305 pounds
♦ Swimming in public is not quite as terrifying
♥ Clothes shopping can be fun
♦ Stairs do not stop me from getting somewhere
♥ I rarely say, “I’m too tired.”
♦ I do not feel like everyone in a room is secretly glad they are not as big as I am
♥ I weigh less than John
♦ People no longer assume I am pregnant because of my large midsection
♥ I can run if I want to and my knees cooperate
♦ I can fasten seat belts with ease
As I gained weight during the first years of my marriage the things I was able to physically do decreased. It was a gradual occurrence, but it happened. Everything was harder, from getting in and out of cars to performing simple personal hygiene routines.
When I began losing weight, I had a running list in my head of things I was looking forward to being able to do.
If someone asked me to share one thing I would like to be able to do I would have said, “Stop being an observer in my life and become more active.” That is something I have accomplished and continue to be grateful for to this very day.
If you can narrow this question down, please share your answer. “What’s just one thing you are looking forward to being able to feel, experience, or share when you get to where you want to be? Or what’s one thing you’ve already experienced that holds a special place in your memory bank?” Diane
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