Friday, August 20, 2010

The Best Birthday Gift!


Today is my 46th Birthday.  Whew. I can't believe it! Where did the time go? I feel like I'm about 25 most of the time, and then I look in the mirror and am surprised to see otherwise! Who is this chubby middle-aged woman staring back at me?!

Last year my birthday was all about celebrating, and all about getting through the first such occasion without my mom.  This year, although I am sure I'll participate in my share of festivities, is more somber.  I am on the other side of 40 now, the half-century mark not that far away.  I remember my mom's 50th birthday very well. She and my dad had (temporarily) separated and she used that experience to make a life-altering change: she picked up and moved back to Ohio.  Got an apartment, a great job, and a couple of boyfriends.  *grin*  I had never seen her so happy! What happened from there is a long story, but the point is that at 50 years old she was beautiful & vibrant, not to mention trim & healthy. I look at the pictures of her at that age longingly..I want to look that good in four years!

Not just for vanity's sake, but for my health.  Mom had quit smoking then and though it didn't last long, we were all encouraged.  I wonder if she hadn't started again, would it have made a difference? Would she have lived longer? Would the lung cancer not have taken hold of her? We'll never know.  What I do know is that while I'm not a smoker, I grapple with my own demon every single day.  Mine just happens to come in the form of food, not nicotine, and it's having an adverse affect on my appearance and my health. If I want to be around for another 50 years or so, I need to take action now, before it's too late. 

So, here's the plan.  I weigh 173 pounds today.  I want to weigh 130.  That's 43 pounds I need to drop.  Since there are 52 weeks in a year, if I lose a pound a week I will be well below goal by my 47th birthday. Allowing for a couple of weeks where I might not lose, this is a completely do-able goal and I will achieve it.  I promise myself, standing here this time next year I will be thinner and healthier. 

What better gift could I possibly give myself?



20 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday!!

    That is a good long term goal. It is also sweet that your mother is still able to inspire you. I'm sure you'll do it.

    Hope you have a great day :)

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  2. Happy Birthday hon!!!!!!!!!! And you will totally do this! I really love your outlook on life and your adventures with Beren.All the best for the year to come and I look forward to following your goal.xx

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  3. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! YOU CAN DO IT!!! Oh and love the Mae West pics, I think you kind of look like her , that is a compliment, she was a beautiful woman!

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  4. Happy birthday--sounds like a realistic and attainable goal!

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  5. Happy Birthday Day, darling. You have it in you to do this. I quit smoking AND am losing the weight. And I am no great shakes at this. You are young and beautiful and you owe it to yourself to be the best you can be. No, no, don't enlist, just follow your plan. I think it'll work!

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  6. AZGypsie, thank you for all of your sweet words! I am *so* proud of you for the quit, you know that subject is near and dear to my heart. xoxoxoox

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  7. Thank you, Lynda! I think so, too, no reason I can't do this!

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  8. Ooh, Ruby, thank you! That is a lovely compliment! ;)

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  9. Thank you, Galah, my dear! xoxoxo

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  10. Happy Birthday! You can do it. (And you ARE still young. Believe it).

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  11. Happy Belated Birthday! Hope it was an even to remember.

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  12. Rapunzel – Happy Birthday to you!!! Hope you had a wonderful time. I am back from my vacation and had a blast – I will blog about it later. A pound a week is an awesome goal. What I would say is that wherever the "I don't wannas start to creep up – don’t look at your end goal just battle that don’t wanna in the moment and get through that day!" You will be just fine once you put your mind to this effort and just do it.

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  13. How are you doing? Just checking in... I have seen no posts for a few days...

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  14. Misunderstood, thanks so much for checking on me! I'm just dealing with some family issues at the moment, nothing too serious but it does require my focus.

    Hope all is well with you, I'll be back soon! :)

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  15. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

    OH YEAH.. TAG! YOU'RE IT! - http://nicoleabdou-destinationunknown.blogspot.com/2010/08/tag-im-it.html

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  16. All is well with me. I have always heard "take care of home first" if that is where you are at then you must do it. Take care.

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  17. Happy Birthday!! Sorry I missed your birthday post, catching up... hope your birthday was wonderful! Your goal for the coming year is very doable - good for you for setting this goal. Looking at your May 2003 picture and it's caption "130 Lbs, feeling really good right about now!", some good motivation in that photo. Go gett'em!

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  18. Happy Birthday! Your goal for the coming year is very doable - good for you for setting this goal. Looking at your May 2003 pic w/ the caption, "130 Lbs, feeling really good right about now!"; lots of motivation there. Go gett'em!

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