It is just a few days till the surgery that will change my life. I expect that I may get nervous at some point during the next three days. I have not experienced any nervousness at all.

I was hoping to have today off from work. It would have meant three days off in a row. It seems like the rest I will have for the six week recovery will be my only respite except some vacation time.

So pray for me on Jan 3rd.

This should be easy as pie. I have had operations in this hospital before for polyps. I know, I will have a great surgical team and wonderful follow up nursing. It is terrific that they spend so much time seeing if I have any issues before surgery.

 One other thing that they will do is check my gall bladder with an ultrasound an hour before the pre op pre test.

I am not in school any  more but pre test??

It had been a terrific week up until the snowstorm of Dec 13th where I spent almost thirty minutes getting a few hundred yards in my vehicle back into the post office lot. Next thing, I discovered that some who had meant to leave work from the post office at 2 waited out the early rush. I mean early because there had been a snow emergency called and the children were being released from school, and businesses were letting their employees leave early.

So, perhaps we had a self induced gridlock by all hype about the storm. It caused the plows, and sanders a lot of problems because they could not get the job done. Next morning, it was clear down to the pavement on the main roads.

Just to let you know it was a terrible ride home. Every hill was causing the drivers to slide back, the trucks were impeded, and the slush was freezing on our windshield. It took us 4 hours to get home. We did stop at a Dunkin Donuts for coffee for my husband, and hot chocolate for me. I needed it. I had been doing without caffeine for so long that I am almost weaned off it.

We rode the last half hour without wiper blades, as the motor went. Luckily, it just needed to be reset the next day and the blades replaced. I thought they looked as if they were praying for us. It was necessary.

Next, we got an icy sleety storm on Sunday, and missed church, and the Advent Workshop which is a craft workshop that I have a large part in at church every year. I was glad it was cancelled as I am a wimp on ice. 

Major concerns that I am praying about this week. I do not want to fall or be hurt before the operation with the ice remnant on the walkways and driveways. I do not want a major snowstorm on Jan. 3rd (2008). I am praying the weather is okay to drive. 

I also pray that I get sleep the night before the surgery!

I have been sharing my story of weight loss, and letting my friends, coworkers, and members of my church know what I intend to do in Jan.
There are a few overweight individuals who are beginning to listen to me with an open mind. Some, though, continue to be concerned that I will have problems further down the line. 
I am nesting. Yes, I think, you can call what I am doing nesting. I am making a better home with less clutter..........giving away those clothes that have 3x on them. I dropped two coats off at church for Rosie's Place. I know that the clients there will love the chocolate brown coat with the fur hood. I loved it. I also gave up a Hornets jacket that my sister had given to me after her weight loss surgery.
My sister, Judy, and my cousin, Sherri, have both had the RNY surgery. I am learning a lot from them. I also know that there is a better support system at Newton Wellesley Hospital then where they had the surgery.
Tomorrow, I will go to one of their support meetings that meets at 6 30 to 8 pm. We have a small notebook with instructional pages, recipes for the blended diet, and a sheet where we get an initial to show that we have attended meetings, and all the pre op testing. 
Monday, I was in a large group of women and one man who will have the surgery done within the next month. One woman will have another doctor in the practice operate on her the same day as me...January 3rd.
It is a large group, but after seeing each other in the meetings over the past months, and listening to each other Monday. I am sure there will be more comraderie. 
After all, we are morbidly obese, and we did not shun each other, did not make insulting remarks, or stare! 
I am down to 262 pounds. I would like to be down to near 250 by Jan 3rd. I do not know if that is realistic with the holidays. I am a visual eater...if I see it...I could eat it.