One Year already??

Oct 22, 2012

Wow!!

Its been year already!!

There was a point in my life where I thought maybe I wouldn't even make it to 40 years old....and now here I am, running 11kms before breakfast!!

So much has changed for me this past year! With all the ups and downs, there is nothing about my surgery I regret, except not having done it sooner!!

I would like to take a moment and just count all my blessings that surgery has given me in my new life and toast all my NSVs....

Things I can do now that I couldn't 1 year ago:

RUN!!!
I ran 11kms this morning in 1hr and 15 minutes.

Tie and/or buckle my shoes
I used to think my arms were too short to do this properly. Turns out my belly was just in the way.

Shop
I never liked shopping. I hated trying stuff on. It was so depressing!! I am still not very good at this one but I am definitely getting better. I went into Sportchek the other day and bought myself running pants....size medium....without even trying them on! Yes ok, I panicked all the way home thinking they were going to be too small....but they weren't and in that one brave moment in the store, I defied the voice in my head and just went for it!

Eat alone in public
I would have NEVER dreamed of eating alone in a public place before for fear that everyone was watching the 'fat chick' to see what she was eating. Now, it doesn't much bother me because in all honesty, I don't even think anyone notices!

Play
I play outside with the kids. My kids are older, so its not the same as when they were little and going to the park with them. This is playing volleyball in the yard or basketball at the park. I played hockey for the first time! I even played volleyball at work!

Laundry
I know this seems like an odd thing, but for anyone who has their laundry machines in the basement of their house or apartment, you know exactly what I am talking about here. Running up and down the stairs several times a day with a basket of clothes on your hip used to put  my out of commission for days! Now, I can even do laundry on the days when I do my long runs! I have teenage boys and a diva daughter too so we're not talking about 1 or 2 loads here. I am talking like 10 or more!!

Talk to strangers
Not something I would advocate for anyone under 12, however talking to random people in the grocery line or at Girl Guides chatting with the other moms...I used to be so afraid and wanted to get in and out as fast as possible in the hopes that nobody would notice me.


In all of that, I think the best part of having had surgery is that I feel FANTASTIC!!! Of course I have bad days; everyone does. But in general, I feel awesome on the inside and I believe it shows on the outside. Many people have commented that I have pink cheeks now!! LOL! and I don't even wear makeup!!

If anyone out there is thinking about it....all I can say is that it really is hard work. But if you are prepared to put the effort into it, you get MORE than your share out of it. As I said before, the only regret I have is that I didn't do it sooner.

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