Losing a part of me

On Day 12, I wrote that I sorted all of my clothes into five storage bins. This afternoon, with Leslie by my side, I opened the one that read “Pants and Shorts, Size 42.” There were several pair of shorts and pants. The first pair that I tried on fit fine, but they are an ugly pair of black pants, and I decided to put them into the pile marked ‘Donate to Cuba.’ That they fit was only a minor victory, because they were a pair of stretch pants from Walmart.

The next pair that I tried on did not fit… nor did one pair of shorts. Everything else in the bin fit! This was a huge non-scale victory… and the piece de resistance was the pair of Levi’s 501 button-fly jeans, which are usually the last pair in a size that will fit. Guess what I wore the rest of the day? You guessed it… My Levi’s! I always saw Levi’s as a real indicator of progress. The first time I lost a lot of weight was when I was testing for my Black Belt; I remember we (the family) were down in Buffalo, and the mall had a Levi’s outlet store. I decided to try on a pair to see… mostly because I remembered one time going into a similar store and being told that Levi’s did not make pants in my size. When they fit, I was elated.

I was elated yesterday too… and probably more so. The fact that Leslie was here to celebrate a huge milestone was so wonderful for me. Over the next few months there will be many more milestones, and whether she is here with me in person, or if we share them over the phone, I am so happy to have her in my life and as my weight-loss (and improved-health) cheerleader!

There were three pair of shorts that either fit or nearly fit… which means that in a month when we fly to Cuba they will fit perfectly. If I have three pair of Size-42 shorts that fit, then I will be donating all of my Size-44 shorts. I have made the decision that this is it… once I have three pair of Size-42 pants that fit I am done… after that, I will never wear a Size-44 again.

We drove out to Cambridge, where we spent the afternoon and evening with Ryan, Glenn, Lindsay and her boyfriend. As always, a good time was had by all. We watched the last bit of The Masters on TV, and I played a few rounds of darts against Glenn. It is great playing against someone who has been drinking all afternoon… not matter how poorly I might throw, there is very little chance of my actually losing a game.

Yesterday and today, we shared an omelet. I made it with three eggs, cauliflower, onion, mushrooms, and a little bit of cheese (although yesterday I skipped the cheese). Leslie calls it the Omelet of Justice and Power and Might… we love being silly together, and I love that we can be serious but also fun and silly. I just might have to do something drastic…

Today we will head on over to Lyle and Dorothy’s house for a few hours, and then we will come home for dinner. While it is nice to see our friends, we also have too little time together, so spending time together alone is hugely important.

Have a great day folks!