1/30/07  Well...I am now 37 years old.  I am now single...not necessarily searching.  I recently moved into a new home.  I'm in a season of firsts and more firsts in my life...everything is new.  Today, I'm learning how to develop a strong viable relationship with "me." 

I can't really describe it, but, I feel like I'm in the preparation stage of the next phase or chapter in my life.  The world and life in general seems to be an open door of opportunity for me right now.  I find myself sitting still and enjoying the quietness of this time in order to find out where I go from here.  For the first time I'm beginning to feel free enough to allow me to be taken care of by God and me for once.

Wls takes care of many physical attributes of obesity but I have learned that all of the head stuff and all of the emotional stuff and behavioral stuff...it takes what seems a lifetime to work through.  I never realized how stunted my growth was until I began to face my personal life issues...the stuff that got me fat and deathly overweight in the first place.  Somehow, even though I knew better, I convinced myself that as pounds melted away, so would many of my problems.

When I saw myself turning back to a relationship with an old "bittersweet" friend (food) for comfort and the ability to cope, I got desperate enough to find the fight in me once again to continue on this journey to finding a new and healthier me:  spirit, soul, mind and body.  Obesity robs us of so much:  healthy self-esteem, self-confidence, functional relationships, life opportunities and the simplest of pleasures that most "normal-size people take for granted.  I'm determined now more than ever to win!