ObesityHelp

Oh Charlene you described exactly the way I felt!  I was so afraid.  I thought HOW on earth would I be able to go to that meeting by myself?  Well, I'll tell you.  I found a way to go and be somewhat comfortable.  I contacted OH and volunteered my services to photograph the event.  That way I could feel a little bit of comfort...hiding behind my camera.  Here I am wearing a shirt that I spent a long time making.  It has my before picture on it, my surgery date and weight loss.  I sure wish I knew where that shirt was now.  By this time at the event, I didn't care if I had a camera or not.  LOOK AT THE SMILES ON OUR FACES!  They aren't little smiles, they are HUGE smiles. Then we had the luau party.  I remember Charlene from that party because she was glowing. I've posted this picture before but you'll see Charlene on the right. See the smiles??? I can't tell you how much energy there was at this event.  There was another woman I got to know and has a laugh that everyone LOVES.  Miss Connie!   And then Ramon.  I even photographed him from the dimple side! And for those that don't know, Eric Klein is the CEO of Obesity Help and he's the second from the right next to me.  I swear he looks the same now...he doesn't age! I remember coming home from the event and a really bizarre thing happened,  This may sound strange but when I had surgery my cats would lay on me because they do that when my emotions are elevated...good or bad.  When I walked in the door I had bags of stuff and camera stuff and I just dropped it in the floor.  All 4 cats came running up to me and circled around my feet.  My energy was off the scale.  I remember feeling more confident after that event too because I was still a fat girl in my head.  I'm still a fat girl in my head some days but it gets better little by little.  The thing I learned is that it was OK to speak to people in the elevator or in the hallway and they would speak back!   Thanks Charlene for your post....and you DO hug back and you hug back REAL GOOD!  The same goes for me! If you see me first, run up and hug me!  hugs, Y

Ahhh  and that reminds me, I wouldn't have met you or Ramon if it had not been for the San Antonio event last September!  I was roaming the halls of the hotel rooms my first night in San Antonio after check in and went to get some ice or something and Ramon spotted me (I was wearing my Brazil DS t-shirt) and came up to me and introduced himself very warmly  ..  He said he figured I was there for the event .. I had no idea who he was ..  He invited me to attend his breakout group the next day, which I did and enjoyed very much ..  I remember you came in near the end of the session to take pics of him from the back of the room and I wondered "who is THAT good-looking gal???" (I assumed you were a staff photographer for OH) ..  Later we chatted and then I found out when I got back to the forums who you "were"!   &:-)     So .. yes  the OH events are great for meeting new friends ... !

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY YOU'RE COMING! I was hoping that you'd be able to come.  No it's not too late to send a check.  Just put it in the mail and there's plenty of time. Will that work for you?  Just in case you need it, here's the registration link. www.rydobesity.com/register.htm Let me know if that works for you and if I can answer any questions, I'm here to help. hugs, Y