“I’ve reached a point in my life where it’s the little things that matter… I was always a rebel and probably could have got much farther had I changed my attitude. But when you think about it, I got pretty far without changing attitudes. I’m happier with that.”
Veronica Lake
I’ve always been a stubborn person. My parents wrote me letters they gave to me when I graduated high school. I still have them put away in a box somewhere, they bring tears to my eyes when I come across them and read them again. I can really feel the love they have for me in those letters. I also got a letter from my sister and brother. I will always cherish those. Love them. One thing I remember from my letters though was my Dad saying how stubborn I have always been…..he said I was born stubborn, with the Doctors having to pull me out with the forceps, I was going to do it my way, no matter what! Makes me laugh – because it’s true. When I finally chose to take this path of weight loss surgery, my Grandma told me I was too stubborn to not be successful. I hope she’s right. I’m not sure if stubbornness has gotten me to the point I am now.
Even though I feel this is going slow (compared to others – but fast compared to the alternative of not having the surgery), I notice the small things and that makes me smile. Being fat is not always fun. I’ve been lucky in my life to be surrounded by non-judgmental people who are able to look past my “outside”. I’m surrounded by people who are supportive and loving. That makes a big difference.
Some of the small things I have noticed lately are…….I’ve been building up my endurance with the walking I’ve been doing. I’m not getting it in every day, but when I DO get it in, I can feel that I can get further and further without getting out of breath. Tommie and I went hiking this weekend at the Maple Woods Natural Area. It was really nice. Tommie mentioned that I was out-walking him, which hasn’t happened in a long time. Made me feel good. I’m looking forward to more outings with him. We later went out to eat and I noticed that I didn’t have to “squeeze” into a booth. When you’re large, you never know if you’re going to be able to fit into a booth when you go out to eat. If offered, I would usually chose a table with a chair. I also notice that when I go to tie my tennis shoes, I don’t have to prop them up on the chair to get them tied. I can just bend down and tie them with no problem. My sister came to visit last week and my nieces were wanting to sit on my lap. Out of habit I say “Aunt Amy doesn’t have a lap!” But come to find out, I see it starting to peek out! I have more of one than I did before! Ha ha.
There are a few other things, but you get the idea. I have a LONG way to go, but it’s these little things that I notice that make me smile on a daily basis and makes me think, “I can do this! It’s going to be SO worth it!” So far I’ve lost 55 lbs, and I have about 60 more lbs to my FIRST major goal. It’s not my main goal, but it’ll be my first milestone.
It’s rainy and gloomy here today. I like rainy days, but I just wish it was a bit warmer. I’m ready for the weather to be steadily warm. I’d like to enjoy the warm weather, before it gets HOT.
Well – just wanted to drop a quick line to update people. Not much new going on. Just chugging along. Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings!