It's a Wonderful Life?

Ok, I just had a God moment I think. I’ve been mulling things over since my last post. If you read my blog with any regularity, you have probably noticed a few patterns. First, I’ve had some crappy things happen to me. Second, I’m sometimes willing to take an honest look at myself and how I’ve managed to get to where I am today. Third, I just LOVE to pull out the violin every couple of posts and whine and complain and throw a grand ol’ pity party for myself. It is kind of a warped little dance I’ve been doing all year. I think the great thing about my blogging is that there is PROOF out there now; proof that I can’t ignore when it’s convenient. Proof that shows me that yes, while I have made some progress in some areas over the last decade or two…I still have a lot to learn. There is still a LOT of room for growth…and I’m not just talking about my weight. We all know that my weight is a symptom of much BIGGER struggle I have going on in my head.

The other day, I read a friend’s blog. She never fails to put a smile on my face, whether I’m reading her blog or chatting with her via msn. It is kind of ironic honestly, because as funny as she is…there have been many times in the time I’ve known her that she hasn’t always told me what I wanted to hear. We work together and when things between Erik and I started to go south, she was the one that really helped strip my blinders off. She helped me see all the excuses I was making for him and for myself and was relentless in forcing me to see things as they really WERE and not the way I was trying to imagine them to be. Until recently (when I gave her a link to my blog) I don’t think she had ANY idea about the extent of my weight problem and I was really ashamed to share the link with her. I even asked her not to read it until I was ready and as far as I know, she honored that request (I gave her the ok a few months ago). She hasn’t really said anything about the blog or about the realization that I am a ginormous fatty(we don’t work together as often as we used to so maybe it’s because of that…I find it hard to believe she would hold back if she truly had something to say ;) . To be honest, I wasn’t so embarrassed about her learning how much I weighed, seeing actual pictures, or reviewing my gargantuan measurements. I was ashamed because she was going to see my overwhelming and pathetic penchant for wallowing in my problems. Now I say she hasn’t really said anything about my blog, but today I think she told me just what I needed to hear…more on this later.

As ashamed as I am about my weight, I am truly probably more ashamed that I will turn 40 next year and while I may have moments where I can recognize my own part or responsibility in where I am at today, I haven’t quite figured out how to USE these realizations to move me PAST my problems; which brings me to this recent post of hers. I would encourage you to go read it for yourself, but here’s a little synopsis: Basically, she wrote about “It’s a Wonderful Life” and how she’s always had a problem watching it; not because it was sappy and at times saccharine, but mainly because, in typical Tammy fashion, she saw things in it that many other people missed: the fact that George had an awful lot to do with his current situation. George made decisions and choices throughout his life and those choices set him, as much as any circumstances outside of his control, on the path that led him to where we see him at the beginning of the movie. I read that and immediately felt the bright glaring spotlight of shame focused on my own glaring culpability in my current situation.

The weight is easy. I’m fat because ultimately, I make choices about what I’m going to or not going to put in my mouth and most of the time, I choose poorly. I also choose to not go to the gym or even do little things around the house that might slowly begin to build my strength up. Granted, I have a lot of crap in my head that often defeats me, but ultimately…the responsibility is on me. I choose to give into it all. I allow it to overwhelm me and defeat me. Even that is a decision I make.

Let’s talk about some other decisions I’ve made that have gotten me to where I am. First, I fell in love with Erik. I knew from the beginning that something wasn’t quite right. It took us two years (as good friends) with subtle and most times not so subtle chasing on my part to land him. That probably should have been my first clue. Once we were together, there were plenty of other signs that I chose to ignore. Regardless of anything Erik did in this situation, I made many decisions and really almost “forced” our relationship in a direction it wasn’t going in naturally. I didn’t get pregnant on purpose, but since we all know Tanner wasn’t immaculately conceived, I think we can agree that I should accept my part in creating him.

The financial problems we have encountered have also largely been due to our own choices. Yes, we have had oodles and oodles of medical bills and other unexpected things come up, I’m fairly certain that if we hadn’t been living way beyond our means for quite some time, things wouldn’t be quite as desperate as they are now. We would have been in trouble, but I think we could have dug our way out by now.

So yes, in many ways, my life sucks, but ultimately I think the thing that sucks the most is that I have to cope with the fact that I am the biggest reason it sucks; not erik, or Tanner, or my mom dying or whatever else I latch on to periodically to distract myself from the reality of my situation.

So these are things I’ve been mulling over since reading Tammy’s post. Flash forward to today…I get a call from my grandfather (hi papa :). He called to tell me he was sending money for Tanner’s Christmas, we talked about his upcoming wedding next March and how I was going to try to get Tanner and I up there around that time and somehow we ended up talking about my blog. Basically, he mentioned that he had read my last pity party (my words, not his) and felt like he needed to remark on some common threads or patterns he’s seen in the weave of my blog over the last year. I’m sure you can guess what they were. He acknowledged that while I can at times have moments of crystal clear self realization where I am open to accepting my part in the way my life has turned out…I also have many moments where I slip back into these periods of stagnation which keeps me stuck in this warped little static cha-cha you’ve watched me do all year. There can’t be any real growth because every time I take one step forward, I lose ground again. I set goals and then almost immediately lose sight of them and fall back into old patterns…the same old patterns that got me right to where I am today. Here is where I could come up with a bunch of excuses WHY I lose ground, but come on…you’ve heard them all before and in the end, you and I both know they are irrelevant. If I want to change my circumstances, I am the only one with the power to do that.

In the end, I thanked my grandfather for his advice, we said our goodbyes and, pondering the last bit of our conversation, went to check my email and there…like a period at the end of that conversation with my grandfather was Tammy’s comment on my last blog. You can go read it for yourself, but once again…I had to smile. I don’t know if it is God or fate or what, but someone or something is definitely trying to slap me upside the head this morning. Thanks Papa and Tammy for giving me the swift kick I needed. Here’s hoping I can keep my eye on the prize this next year and actually make some progress towards my goals.

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I've been eating a few too many of these lately...

I just wanted you guys to know that I am doing fine...I know I've been super slacking on posting lately. I will fess up and say that I haven't been doing all that great on the diet. I haven't weighed myself and I probably won't this week, but I haven't completely fallen off the wagon. Every day, it is usually *something* but I'm not going crazy which is still progress for me.

Why have I been so vulnerable? I really don't know. I'm definitely fighting my way back out of this depression. I've felt much better this last week, but I have been feeling rather overwhelmed. I had my recurring nightmare I usually get when I'm overwhelmed last night which is usually one of the following:

1. I'm chewing a big wad of bubble gum and can't seem to spit it out. It sticks to my gums and my teeth and as I try to pull it out my teeth come with it.

2. My mouth starts to fill with this paste; almost like my teeth are making it because it sticks to my teeth and I scrape and scrape but can't ever seem to get it all out of my mouth. If I do manage to clean it all out, the next thing I know, my mouth is full of it again.

Last night, it was the nasty paste. I'd almost rather have the gum dream because the paste is just disgusting; almost unclean or something blech. Maybe I should think about this dream whenever I'm craving something fattening. It certainly kills your appetite doesn't it?

So, why am I having these dreams and why am I feeling so overwhelmed? I think its because I've had a lot on my plate lately. First, I had to pay the taxman with money I really didn't have. Then my son did a number on both his hearing aid and cochlear implant. Work hasn't been all that great and one of my jobs isn't as lucrative as it once was so financially all the way around things are tight. I think because I typically handle stress like this with food its been more difficult because I'm also trying to lose weight. I don't WANT to turn to food to cope, but that creates its own kind of stress.

I've also held off on exercise until I can get a stress test done with my doctor (slated for April 30th). I've been having periodic symptoms and he wants to get a good idea about where my heart is functioning and make sure I'm on the right medication before I start taxing it too much. It's frustrating because I do want to start working out. I want to build my strength up because I know that once I start, It will start to snowball in the other direction (getting stronger), but something inside of me just feels so ...defeated...everytime I try to get started and realize my limitations. I know that I have to start somewhere, but sometimes, just thinking about how difficult it is and how slowly I have to start makes it seem like I will never get there and it kind of paralyzes me and makes me want to go back to bed.

I realize this sounds incredibly pathetic, but I'm just being honest about what I struggle with on a daily basis. I keep making "plans", new ideas about exercise, buying bands, downloading this, printing off a workout regime, etc but I never actually get around to DOING any of it and its pissing me off frankly. I HATE being *that* person who does nothing but sit around and moan about her problems but does NOTHING to change her situation. I guess that's the main reason I haven't been posting. I don't want to lie and say I'm sticking to the plan, working out, etc when I'm not but I don't want to get on here and moan and whine about how "hard" it is to get motivated either.

Maybe I'm spending too much time thinking too far ahead. I do that and then start making a mental list of everything I have to do and before I know it, I'm feeling overwhelmed and just want to lose myself in a book or by going to sleep. Maybe I need to throw all my plans out the window and just take it moment by moment?

One thing I am planning on doing this week is posting here every day regardless of whether or not I think I have anything to say. I need to just get myself back into the groove because when I was posting every day I found it much easier to stay on track. Here's to day 1!

Cake for Lunch and other screwups

Hey there. Me again. Just a quick note to say that my eating habits have been kind of crazy this week. I don't know if the lethargy I've been feeling is related to my illness, depression or what, but it is seriously affecting how I'm eating as well. I don't really feel depressed; well, I guess I do a bit, but I think its because I have NO FREAKING ENERGY. I started back at work yesterday, but had to lay down and take a nap right afterwards. When I wake up, I feel a bit more rested, but am still just so physically exhausted so we wind up doing something "easy" for dinner (read take out).

The other thing is...on the days that we eat out at night, I usually have only had a bowl of cereal the entire day so the fat and calories in my evening meal probably equal my daily allotments anyway. I guess I'll see on Monday.

Yesterday was Erik's birthday and he brought home the biggest cake from work the night before PLUS we ordered a smaller chocolate cake from a woman we love here in San Antonio so I actually had cake for lunch yesterday...what is wrong with me?

hmmm, I've been eating crap...I feel like crap...think there's a connection in there somewhere, I just need to figure out what it is.

As for the lethargy, again I'm not sure if its related to my prior illness, but I don't think it's *just* what I've been eating or not eating. I'm going to call my doctor again because some of the heart medication I'm on can cause this too. He actually wanted me to take provigil to counteract it, but I'm already taking so many freaking pills. I may go ahead and try it though because all of a sudden, I feel like I did when i was working the graveyard shift and all I ever wanted to do was sleep (or try to sleep). This just isn't me...I like to be active and doing stuff and I want to get back to the pool..bleh

Comments are welcome :)