So, 2017 was a year that took strength and perseverance to get through. I had a few “life altering” changes that I had to keep plugging through to make it! I even got a tattoo (my first) on my wrist this year to remind me of the strength it took to get through and to know the strength I have will always get me through.

The first big thing was losing Poco. That was a rough! When you have a friend/companion/pet for 20+ years you do not realize the fixture they become, even in the most mundane everyday things. I still don’t talk a lot about losing him, because it is still a very emotional thing for me. But I do know I was very blessed to have him for so many years.

I also had weight loss surgery in December. It was an opportunity that almost fell in my lap and I feel like I walked into it without much hesitation, over-thinking, etc. Which is very much unlike me! You know I am more of the person that thinks about things even from the most bizarre angles that you know are not really even possible, but you still go there… just in case! I remember when I was less than two weeks out I thought to myself “did you really do this?!? But what if…” and I shut that down right there because it was too late to what-if. I am glad I did not over think things in this instance because I very easily could have talked myself out of it 100+ different ways! Would it hurt (because I am a weenie at the thought of pain. I mean when it comes to pain I seem to do fine, but the thought of it I can’t take)? How will I recover? What issues will I have and so on…

When I met with my doctor I was not 100% sure I would have surgery. He went through the normal health questions to see if I “qualified” and to assess what type of candidate that I would be. Do you have high blood pressure… nope. Do you have sleep apnea… nope. Do you have… nope, nope, nope, nope. I told him, I’m healthy, just fat. And he retorted with “you’re not fat, you have a weight problem.” I told him I had dieted in the past and been successful but there was a number I just could not get past. He said “97% of people with a BMI of 35 or higher that is ever successful at get a significant amount of weight off, put all of it back on plus some.” He went on to tell me it is because of your biological makeup that your body desperately tries to get back to this spot. Your body thinks it needs to be here to survive. He said the surgery resets your biological makeup and changes things for you. It was in the moment that I decided I was having surgery. And I never looked back or questioned anything from that point.

I knew to start off successful and stay successful through this journey I would need to change my habits. So, I walked into this eating very healthy. I know I get “this many bites” in a meal. I want them to be as healthy and nourishing to my body as possible. I have at times eaten things I “shouldn’t” (at least shouldn’t in my eyes), but I would say 95% of time I try to eat fruits, vegetables and healthy proteins. And when I decide to eat “crap” sometimes my body gives me a big FU. So, it makes decision making time a lot easier lol. I just hit my 5-month anniversary and I am down just shy of 80lbs since surgery. I am so glad I made this decision to get healthier and improve my life. I know some people say “this is the easy way out” or whatever negativity they decide to spew about this choice. But it’s just that, my choice. This is my journey. It’s my path to follow. I know the countless things I have done to lose weight and try to get healthy. I know what a struggle it was for myself. And I also know that the women in my family have/had the same struggle with many resulting in health issues. So, I decided to take control of things now and make a decision that would hopefully improve my healthy and life for years to come.

So here is to a year of change from 2017 and a year of continually improving (I hope) for 2018. I hope this will encourage anyone reading it to make a change in 2018 for the better. Sometimes it takes a moment of courage to provide a lifetime of success!

I am not an insanely religious person. That is not to take away from anyone who is or is not. We just are not regular church goers or prayers. I believe in God and I believe that everyone has their own way of praying/believing/witnessing/experiencing/etc. the way/word of God. Recently I really felt like God put someone in my path that I truly needed that day.

I was having a rough day at work. It seems like everyone that I came in contact with (by phone or in person), had an attitude and anything that could cause a hiccup, did. But by late lunch time… I NEEDED a break! I rarely take a lunch break, let alone actually leave at lunch to eat by myself. But because I did not want to murder anyone… I had to go! Plus, I needed to run an errand for the office. So away I went. Grumbling. Irritated. Tired. Hungry. Thinking of all the things I needed to accomplish for the day and leaving was not getting them done.

I just ran to the Kroger for the errands for the office (after quickly running through the drive thru of Chick-fil-a for my go to grilled nuggets and fruit). Both are just an exit over for us, so I knew it would be fast. I picked up the things on my list while quickly running through my head “Is there anything else that we may need that I did not think about while making this list…”. Once I was hoping I had not forgotten anything, to the checkout stand I went. The lady who checked me out… I have been through her line before. She never strikes me as being happy. But she is never rude. I try to be overly nice so hopefully I leave you in a better mood than when I got there. That was not the case on a day like today… I was just there to get my crap and get out! But the bagger… he touched my heart that day for some reason. He was so overly nice. Very happy to be doing his job. And very eager to make you happy. He asked if he could move my purse from the basket I brought up there to the one he was going to put groceries in. I told him yes of course and thanked him for doing that. As he was trying to bag, the items were not making it to him and he asked the cashier if she could give them to him. She seemed put out, so I just reached over the counter and handed him what he needed. He thanked me for helping. That was when I actually looked at him. He was younger, maybe early 20’s. He had a buzzed haircut, which gave you a perfect view of the long scar on his head. I then realized he had some other disabilities with his arm and with at least one of his legs with the way he walked. These were the physical attributes that I noticed of this young man. But what stood out to me was his excitement to do his job, his willingness to please and his very infectious personality. I can’t tell you one thing that he did that made him stand out, it was just him. But I walked away with thoughts swirling my mind, with the feeling that new life had just been breathed into me. I wondered what gave him the physical scarring that he had? What gave him the infectious personality he had? How did he completely make me take a deep breath and overcome so much negativity for the day? It made me think our days are not guaranteed. Be happy in the moments you have. It made me hope to have that sort of impact on someone in such a short time at some point in my life. It made me slow down, take a deep breath and know that the day/the week/the month will be just fine. Things will come together, and things will get done.

How is someone able to have such a significant impact on someone in such a short, impersonal meeting? I walked out of that store knowing that God put him in my path that day and he made me take notice. I had wished sitting in that parking lot that I had my laptop to type up exactly what my feelings were. The sense of renewal I had in that moment needed to be expressed and shared. I have thought about that brief interaction many times this week, and now almost a week later I found time to pull out my laptop and try to capture what I felt that day. It really moved me.

Do a good deed. Make someone’s day. Ignore the negativity. Inspire someone today. And share what is on your heart.  It’ s true that you never know what someone is going through and to never judge a book by it’s cover. Use your positivity and you never know who you will move.

It’s the little things, that make a big difference.