fifi_la_femme
I realise my first blog has told you a lot about my weight loss/gain journey. But not much about myself.
Well, I am 48 years old and have been married to Peter for 25 years. Our family, although South African, live in New Zealand. I have two lovely adult children, Mike and Sue.
Mike, who is 23 has recently qualified as a high school teacher. He still lives at home with Rose, his girlfriend. Much as I long for the 'empty nest syndrome', there is a plan! Rose is lovely and is very much part of the family, their staying with us is a way for them both to save up and join us on a family holiday back to South Africa at the end of the year.... and then I'll boot them out ;-) Susan lives about 8 hours drive south of us. She is studying Veterinary Nursing. We really miss having her around. We are blessed with our children. I certainly tried my best not to influence them as far as eating was concerned, just provided healthy food, not too much take out (about once a week), and encouraged them to try all food before deciding whether they liked it or not. I never forced them to finish what was on their plate, nor prevented them from having as much as they wanted of fruit, veg and other healthy food. I also never remarked on their weight or body shape, just positive comments about how nice they looked... when they did. They are both well adjusted and slim.
Peter is a mechanical engineer, who works in hydraulics. He loves working with his hands and last Easter we launched a beautiful cedar-strip kayak he had made. One of my goals is to go kayaking with him. At the moment I am too scared to try and sit in it in case I don't fit... and then if it turns upside down..how will I get out?
I qualified as a social worker in 1982 - seems a lifetime away. I have worked largely in the Addiction (Drug and Alcohol) field for the last 20 years. I love it, I can really relate with my addiction to food. The cravings, the binges, the guilt, the shame, the secrecy, the public discrimination and the way we use substances to deal with negative emotions. At the moment I work in more of an administrative role and really miss the people contact.
We also have two cats, Missy and Pippin. We got them shortly after moving into our house 7 1/2 years ago. They really helped to settle us in NZ. And for our sins, and because Susan tricked us into it, we have two English Springer Spaniels. Love them to bits, but what a handful(s). So much energy, and need more discipline than we provide.
We live in Auckland, which is a lovely city, but not as beautiful as Cape Town... which is spectacular. Cape Town is the city that holds my heart. We are really fortunate to live 100m from a beach...what a priviledge. I have tried to walk on it every day since I came home after surgery. The windsurfers flying across the water the last few days provide motivation to keep on with the weight loss.
I love reading, will read anything.. the telephone directory if all else fails. I belong to a bookclub and we meet on the last Wednesday of the month at a restaurant to talk about life and news...and oh, yes, the book we have read. They meet tonight, bu t I have given my apologies... can't face a restaurant only 8 days after WLS. I love laughing and good British comedies are my favorite, although re-runs of 'Friends' are my daily therapy. I enjoy being creative, although I haven't done that much since being in NZ. Most of my creativity has centred around food. Having friends and family round and feeding them is one of my pleasures. Talking about friends, I am lucky that two of my good friends have also had WLS, although they had the R and Y. One in January and the other yesterday. They are such great supports.
And I think, that's it. That's my story.
