Vacation ponderings (aka 160 pounds ago...)

Mar 08, 2011

Less than 48 hours ago, I returned home from the vacation of a LIFETIME, to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. 

I was too flipping busy having FUN to do too much pondering while I was there, but on the flight home and while looking at the pictures I have, many thoughts crossed my brain.

160 heavier, I would never have even CONSIDERED going on such a vacation.  Because that would have required a long plane ride (seat belt extender, anyone?), lots of swimsuit time (did you see the beached whale???), and too damn much walking for my ginormous body - ESPECIALLY in soft sand!  Can you say..... SINK???  Can you say.... painful inner thigh rash???

Although really, I could float with the best of 'em, so I always had THAT going for me.

But here I am, closing in on 4 years post-WLS, and - I WENT.  I held the seatbelt out to it's maximum length WITHOUT an extender, and marveled at the fact that pre-wls, I couldn't fit in that huge loop.   Now, I had more than a FOOT of extra belt.  160 pounds ago, I could have squeezed my ass in a seat, but my hips would hurt and then my lower body would go numb from constriction.  Let's not discuss where the hell to hold my arms for 5 hours, so that I wasn't intruding on the person next to me. And FUGEDABOUT using an airplane bathroom.  No. Frickin'. Way.

At the resort, there was lots of walking - around the grounds, several trips up and down the beach, from shops, to restaurants, to the pool, to the bar, to the beach, to the pool, to the room, to the lobby....  NO PROBLEM.  Even if one of us forgot something up in the room, I had NO PROBLEM making an extra trip up there (top floor, no elevators) to get it.  160 pounds ago, that would have made me miserable.  Just make me invisible and let me float the week away in the pool.

We stayed at an all-inclusive.  In my former life, that would have meant ALL YOU CAN EAT, ALL DAY - EVERY DAY!!!  But the food, while wonderful, wasn't even CLOSE to the top of my list!  Oh, I had fun trying things I've never had before - goat, plantain, guava  (THAT is some sour chit!!!) - I ate mussels, lobster, fish I've never heard of...  But honestly?  It wasn't a pig-out at ALL!  I tasted, but didn't gorge on anything. 

I made a white peasant skirt to wear as a cover-up over my swimsuit to hide my scrotum thighs, and I loved it!  But it didn't take too long for me to leave it behind when just walking around the resort.  I didn't feel at all like I was the flubberiest there.  (Maybe I was, I mean my legs are pretty nasty, but I DIDN'T STRESS over it!)  And if I had considered that I would be able to buy a wrap off one of the vendors and actually have it FIT, I might not have bothered with the skirt!  But, I bought one anyway, just because I could (and because it looks FABULOUS!!!)

I danced non-stop.  In the pool, in my chair at dinner, in the lobby, on the beach, at a disco - the music never stopped, and the men down there just LOVE an amazon woman!  (I'm 5'11" - I'm pretty sure the average height for Dominican men is somewhere around 5'6"...) 

We had to transfer from water taxi to bigger boats and back several times - 160 pounds ago, I would have skipped any excursions or boat rides, just to avoid that humiliation.  But I popped between boats and/or climbed up ladders without a second thought - other than to be mildly amazed at how EASY it was for me!  We went deep-sea fishing, and the opening to climb from the lower to the upper deck?  Would NOT have fit through there before.

My smiler hurts, my body aches in places from so much activity and random clod-like moves.  I have a few bruises, but more crazy happy memories than I could have ever imagined.  It really, truly was the trip of a lifetime.

160 pounds ago, I wouldn't have even allowed myself to dream of going. 

Thank GOD for WLS.
 
https://picasaweb.google.com/mndarlin/PuntaCanaTrip?authkey=Gv1sRgCNCRjIz6i6KKdw 

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About Me
Maple Grove, MN
Location
26.5
BMI
RNY
Surgery
04/27/2007
Surgery Date
Jan 12, 2007
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