Landrain
I am Gardener! Renewal Day 17
Oct 14, 2013
So I am 17 days down the path of my new life. My surgery went very well, some slight concerns prior to release from the hospital but nothing major. Progress on my diet has been steady and comfortable. From clear liquids to liquids to puree to small chopped pieces. Have not experienced and nausea or vomitting, and difinitely no dumping syndrome yet. (I am sure it will happen some day when I try to push it... I am thinking that a Little Debbie Fudge Round is the odds on favorite to be the culprit, either that or anything from Willy Wonka :) )
So I awoke yesterday to a blue sky, the sun was shining, birds were singing, deer and rabbit were frolicking in the woods, it was like a cliche'd Disney nature movie. I decided that I needed, no, that I wanted to do yardwork. So I head outside, climb aboard my garden tractor, which in and of itself was an achievement. We have owned this tractor for almost 4 years. This was the second time I have been able to get on it.Climbing onto it a few weeks/months ago would have been impossible, as I just could not lift my leg and contort in the right ways to get aboard. Also, the only other time I drove it, I literally was sitting on the edge of my seat, The BACK edge, I had to sit so far back that half of my butt was hanging off of the back of the seat, and my belly still was rubbing the steering wheel. Well not yesterday! I was able to sit comfortably on the seat, and even had room between belly and steering wheel, not enough for my grand daughter to sit on my lap and drive, but maybe soon. :)
Well, after about 2 hours I had cut must of the front yard, using the mower to pile up leaves for bagging. Non-stop riding for two hours, didnt even feel fatigued or sore. I then got very adventurous, I grabbed the hedge trimmer and clippers and headed to the hedge row across the front of our property. This was my first chance to trim these hedges, as we are still just shy of two months moved in.And it appears that the previous residents had not done any trimming at all. We have a huge arcing 'Governor's Driveway' and the hedge covers the entire gap from one side to the other, It has to be a good 100 foot wide. Well I started up the hedge trimmers and walked the entire front and back of the hedge. Trying to make it look respectable and straight vertical. Well I was close. The best part was I did it entirely around, non-stop, and no resting. I actually circled the hedge almost 3 times total trying to get it looking good. 6 months ago, there is no way I can do it. I would have to drag a chair and sit every 5-10 feet as I trimmed the hedge. Yesterday, Walked the whole way, no stopping.
IT. WAS. AWESOME!!!!
Something that 'normal' people do not realize, is that those of us who are obese are not necessarily lazy. We do not stop and sit down ever 22 minutes because we ant to take our time, and spend hours doing a 10 minute job. We do so out of necessity. Sometimes out of sheer terror at having a heart attack or collapsing. I have a very close friend who tries to motivate some of her heavier friends by shaming them with being lazy and fat. I know that she cares, but she has never had more than 10 extra pounds in her life and just doesn't understand that many times we are not fat because we are lazy, we are lazy because we are fat. The extra baggage we carry around prevents us from doing sometimes the most mundane of things. Like walking the dog, bending over to pick up things on the floor, carrying your grandkids to bed.
Well, I was able to do yard work, and damn it felt good. I cannot wait to do more. :)
