Today I went into the office to do some moving. We've been moving our office this summer. Up until today, they hadn't not put our carousels together, so we had no desks and were unable to do a thing. They finally built "most" of the desk, except mine....even though I'm the first one to start back to schools, as my school districts start the earliest. I return to work for the year on Monday.
That however isn't what I want to write about. I want to write about the moving. When I showed up, there was a lot needing to be done. There were two people there. They had been working for a while, but there were still a ton of boxes piled in the center of the room. We decided to take the boxes and put them by the desk of the person they were labeled as belonging to, as a way to get the mess in the center of the room. One of the two people there is a YOUNG girl, 20 something. She is our aide, and just graduated from college this spring. She hasn't quit yet. Now when I tell you that her new profession is a "professional trainer", you can imagine what kind of shape and condition she is in.
Well, guess what, this 50 year old woman, and this young 20 something personal trainer were doing the "heavy" work! ME!!! The woman who couldn't move a thing on her own, except her oxygen tank, in a move 2 1/2 years ago!! Guess who can now squat properly, to use appropriate technique for using the thighs to lift and not the back, when a box is on the floor! Now I have to be humble enough to admit that I was still nowhere as good as the personal trainer was. Of the two of us, she was the "muscles" doing the heaviest part when we moved the file cabinets, armoirie type furniture and etc. I didn't compare to her. However, ladies and gentlemen.....I was NO slouch!I was just so amazed at what I could do today! Where did this new body come from? How could I do all this! How could it not be killing me? How could I still have all this energy and enthusiasm tonight after the hard work? How could I be dancing around as I listen to my music on my iPhone? How, how, how? I feel like the bionic woman! I feel like someone just came and took that old awful, terrible body away from me.
That body was the one that couldn't walk 10 feet without getting blue lips, even while breathing oxygen from my oxygen tank! That body belongs to the woman who couldn't stand for more than 1 minute or two (that was stretching it when I said two), without my feet hurting and having to sit down. That body belongs to a woman who STILL has MULTIPLE health problems. The person in that body fell to the couch the minute she got home from work (after sitting all day), and didn't move again, except for bathroom breaks, until time to go to work the next morning. I'm NOT kidding! I got so I slept in my chair 99% of the time. I got so that I changed clothes once a day, after waking up in the morning in yesterday's clothes! Doesn't that sound like someone living a nightmare? It was life as I knew it then, but sounds like a nightmare to me now.
How did I get this body? I can work out at the gym and not seem to break a sweat. I used to sweat if I was on my feet more than a minute. I can stand for a whole long time now. I can walk quite a distance to boot! I can dance around, do almost anything I need to do. I feel like a walking miracle today.
Another thought popped in my head just as I was thinking and writing the above paragraph. I am partly bionic anyway, when you think about it, I hear with "two artificial ears". My cochlear implants are today's miracle. I live in a delightful world of sound, beautiful sound. I hear the sweet voice of the toddlers I live with. I hear the music on the iPhone, the short story on my podcast, the current events on the radio! That in itself is a miracle, but I got that by surgery.
This new body, has had no other surgery of any type! No gastric bypass! I probably will never have any plastic surgery . Believe me I can now love my body, flabby skin and all. I won't need to do plastic surgery. Five years ago I was living in the depths of depression. I was hopeless. I NEVER wanted to be 50. I felt life was "OVER" for me.
Today, I'm so happy I make myself sick!!! I probably make other people sick too! :) I'm 15 1/2 lbs from my goal weight. I'm able to stand, walk, lift carry and do all the other things that once seemed to be too much for me. Ain't life grand folks? It all started with first, the power of example (Dick), then the power of the mind as I took the journey I've been on. If I can do this, what can YOU do, if you put your mind to it? Think about it! Your power is your mind. I didn't do it alone (thank heavens for Jenny Craig and for the people in my life). Whatever your dream, put your mind to it and find the tools that you need to find a new life. I now remain firmly convinced that we can always reinvent/renovate ourselves and find our miracles.
Gratitude Log
- I'm grateful I had a good week weight loss wise. I had my slowest quarter since joining Jenny Craig, losing 13 lbs in 12 weeks. Then I finally get reinvigorated again, create some strategies to deal with today's challenges, and I have a week where I lost 4 1/2 lbs! Awesome!
- I'm grateful for the new body I have! It's like a dream come true.
- I'm grateful for raspberries. No, not the fruit! The kind that you blow when playing with little kids. They are fun to give and feel great to give. I'd blow a raspberry on Dalia's arm, then another arm, as she would dissolve into giggles after each one. I found they are sure pleasurable and would giggle myself as she would blow them on me. We had fun experimenting with where we could blow raspberries. They don't work on chins and foreheads. Must use arms, legs, cheeks, and tummies!
- I'm grateful my post office shift for tomorrow got picked up. I have a 4 or 5 hour board meeting (it's a very important meeting to be scheduled for that long) tomorrow morning. I was really worried about someone picking up my shift, as the work volume has increased and not many people are wanting to pick up extra shifts. However, I went in tonight and found that while many shifts on the trade sheet for tomorrow were not picked up, mine was! Yay.
- I'm grateful for my brother. I only have one and he is very special to me. I feel lucky to have grown up with him. Tonight I was looking at pictures and videos my sister sent, from our trip to Idaho. I loved looking at the pictures of my brother, and especially us together. You can see on my face how clearly overjoyed I am to see him, and I think he looks happy to be with Sallie and I.
4 comments:
YES, YES...I want a new body!!!!!!
What an awesome post, as always. You ROCK, I can't believe that you have come so far. Here I sit with 20 lbs to lose...Hmmmm, I am working on it :)
We definitely take for granted what our bodies can do for us if we allow it to be healthy. Pregnancy is really hard for me because I feel so incapacitated and I don't operate at full function...but boy do I appreciate my non-pregnant body when I am done!
I never though about it before, but you're right, I guess someone who's been pregnant and seen what that does to your body can really understand what it feels like to get a new body!
You are awesome!! Thank you so much for sharing your life with us. I know I learn so much! I have a hard time with being pregnant as well. I gain way too much and I am very moody. I would not like to be pregnant Ang all the time. I would probably have no friends. I also am very happy to get my body back. I calcutaled how much I have fluctuated during all my pregnancies. I have gained a total of 170lbs. And after each pregnancy, it is a fight to get back into shape. Sometimes I wonder if it will ever happen. All I have to do is think of you Ann. you know you really should be a public speaker. By the time I finished your entry, I was in tears. Love you tons!
Also, this picture of you and my Dad is precious. I sure miss him.
Ahhhhh, you're so sweet. Public speaking is definitely my dream and something I love! I do agree, this picture of me and your dad is precious. He means a lot to me.
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