Pink Giraffe Musing

I cannot help but look back at 2011 in sheer amazement. I almost wrote....at what happened to me. But it didn't happen to me. I did it.  And that still shocks me sometimes. For those of you who haven't been a part of the journey with me... on February 17, 2011 I joined a boot camp.  I lost inches, and pounds, got stronger (mentally and physically),  and found the part of me that was really me, that I had given so fully to my roles of wife and mother, that I got lost along the way.  I feel more like me than I have in probably a decade, and I stand in awe of it all sometimes. In October of 2011 I made my goal weight, and ran my first 5K. My neighbor said this to me (and I paraphrase).........there is no magic potion or pill or fix. When you couldn't run down this street, you walked, and when you could run a little, you did, and when you could run a little more, you did, until you could run the whole thing. And, I was like, wow, you're righ...

Today, I am at my "goal weight". It has really only been my goal weigh recently, because up until the last few weeks, I have just been enjoying the ride and not really making any plans about "weight". But as of today, I have lost 32 inches and 30ish pounds. THIRTY TWO INCHES. My mind is blown by it all. Really. I guess maybe it is surreal. When I look at my clothes, the ones I own that fit, I think, that cannot fit me...but it does. That part will probably take some time. I am proud of myself. But, in a way, I am more surprised. Amazed that I did it. When I started this, I don't think I had a true goal in mind....I don't think I wanted to hope for too much to be honest. And really, I didn't think I was "fat" (but I probably was), just out of shape and a little "thicker" than I liked. I really didn't know what I was capable of, but I know I didn't think I was capable of much (in terms of working out). And so, as I often do, I u...

In May I wrote this...... "I wish I was a runner, but I am not a runner. First of all, it is hot here. And second of all, I don't like to run, at all....not for long distances. I wish I did....it is cheap and accessible, but I am not self motivated enough to be a runner. This I know." But, I guess that isn't true after all. Because, I have been running. Not a lot. Not fast. And, I am not great at it. But I am running. I may never run a marathon, and I am fairly certain that I don't aspire to, but I can run. Just a little. Enough. Sometimes, there is something childlike about running. Joyful even. When my bunions aren't killing me, anyway. If there is a breeze, and it isn't a zillion degrees, a good song is on, and I have just passed a patch of honeysuckle, I want to close my eyes and turn in circles and sing....I don't, but I feel like at some point while I am running most days. As a mother, what I think I like best about running is that for however lo...