Saturday 22 August 2015

All The Pretty Purples

August is my anniversary month. I have two very monumental anniversaries in the month of august. On august 12, 2000 I married my very best friend, and true partner in life. 15 years later and I am more in love today than ever. We still have as much fun together as we did in the beginning. I can honestly say that we laugh more with each other, and at each other, probably more than is even normal. He is my complete opposite and perfect match. Any way, in my life and in this whole journey I started, Bill is my biggest supporter. He has been through every step, from losing weight to actually get the surgery, being there through the actual process, and helping me figure out how to live with such a life altering change. I had another anniversary in august as well. August 19th marks two years since my gastric sleeve surgery. Its been quite an eventful two years. My life is so different, and better. I cant even compare anymore because there is no comparison. So I have these two monumental days in the same month. After our wedding Bill and I spent some time in beautiful Gros Morne. One of the places we went to was Shallow Bay. Fifteen years ago we walked on the beach and wrote our names in the sand. I have a framed pic of it. (CORNY!!!!) Corny as it is its really special to me. When I went to Shallow Bay years ago I was very insecure about my weight. I wore jeans and a long sleeved shirt, rolled up my pant legs and walked in the water. I loved the beach but I never enjoyed the experience like I should have. Not to mention that I did not like long walks on the beach because physically it was not fun. Its like I enjoyed it, but I wish I could have enjoyed it on another level.(like maybe one where I wore a swim suit!) So our fifteenth anniversary was this year. 15... WHAT??!! How can I possibly have been married for fifteen years when I am so very, very, very...VERY young? Anyway, Its our fifteenth year. Both of us have been quite busy this summer, working lots (lots of nights for me) and both of us have been putting effort into working as many shifts as possible. We are trying to pay down some things and take care of some financial things. Our boys were on holiday so we had no excuse. Because of this we planned a simple anniversary day, but still wanted it to be meaningful. I was working a night shift the night before, so bill picked me up at work that morning and we left to go on an adventure. Sometimes Billy Squires has brilliant ideas... (I KNOW RIGHT... WHO KNEW??) He suggested a picnic somewhere, and we both thought of the perfect spot, Shallow Bay beach. So armed with a delicious lunch made by me, a beach blanket, and my new selfie stick,(don't judge me) we set out. Before we went to shallow bay we went on a sweet little hike to a beautiful water falls and found some tea berries, I was so excited because the last time I had any I was in grade six. Sooo yummy. Then we set out for Shallow Bay. It was so gorgeous. The pic I have does not do it justice at all. The first thing I did was write fifteen years later in the sand (SUPER CORNEY) and when I looked right in the middle of the words was a piece of beach glass. This started my beach glass hunting expedition. I cant say how many miles we walked. On this beach you can walk out in the water forever and not go past your ankles. We didn't stop. I have this plan in the near future to paint my bathroom purple. Purple is my absolute favorite colour. It has been my whole life. As I was walking all these beautiful shades of purple kept catching my attention. I ended up saving tonnes of purple shells and rocks (I felt like Micah, who is an avid rock collector.) I got to gather a purple souvenir for my new bathroom if we ever get around to painting it. its really sad that the lighting of the pic makes it difficult to see the purple colours.It occurred to me that if I hadn't had the surgery two years ago it would have been a drastically different day. I wouldn't have made it off the beach blanket. I wouldn't have walked for miles, and I wouldn't have seen all the beautiful shades of purple. I had another thought as well, If I hadn't had the surgery two years ago I do not know if I would be alive to enjoy that beautiful day. Not to be morbid but at almost four hundred pounds my heart was struggling. But I did, and I am!!!! I am more alive now than I have ever been. Now not that things are perfect. I have a slack skin issue that frustrates me to no end and seriously makes me want to scream my head off most days. I did meet with a plastic surgeon recently, however I cant get into that in this blog, I need to do another one soon, so stay tuned. Warning... not a happy ending. My weight loss has stopped, but I have lost one hundred and seventy pounds. I feel healthy and strong and above all, I am content. August is a good month. Happy surgiversary to me!!!