WoW I can’t believe how long it has been since I had a new post. I have so much to share. Since leaving Hawaii I have had some real amazing experiences from watching the most beautiful nieces in a ballet recital, to freezing on a beach in California in July, to meeting Ali Vincent, the first female Biggest Loser, to picking over 200 peaches of the 1000 harvested from one tree, to accepting a new weight loss challenge from my my mom but, I’m getting ahead of myself.
First I wanted to clarify that I have not been Online in weeks because of the slowest Internet connection to man and not because of a guilty conscious. My mother is still on a dial-up system. I try loading a page and after 5 minutes the computer stalls or AOL kicks me off and I hear “Goodbye!” I’m working on my mom to solve this digital divide a.s.a.p. I’m thinking a Smart phone would be fun because then we could text.
When I got to Newport Beach I couldn’t stop breathing in that salt air. There’s something about the cool of the evening and the smell of a Californian beach. I know I was on the Hawaiian beaches all summer but California is home.
Remember how I was worried about heading back to normal after a month of incredible change? Well it was a slow fade. It was easy at first to continue but time progresses and days wear on and your resolve fades if it is not tended to.
I was jazzed when I first got back to my normal. I started off by taking my mom to the pool for some Water Aerobics. I showed her everything I learned from Tina in Hawaii. I even called out “Eight more!” a few times. Mom did great. The next day mom lamented that she couldn’t understand why her arms were hurting. I had to remind her that she worked out the day before. She couldn’t believe it.
I then had the opportunity to meet Ali Vincent. She had been on a Famous Footwear Mind Body and Sole tour. It was incredible to meet her. For the few short minutes that we spoke I was struck by our common journey. I shared what she taught me when I read her book. 
That I also had been collecting excuses instead of experiences. (See blog post). It was great then to share with her the actions that I had taken since. Choices right? My mother was very impressed by her and her mother. Yes Betty Sue is still a little spitfire. She lost 70 on the show and another 40 since. Betty Sue shared her experiences on the Biggest Loser Ranch and made everyone feel very comfortable. My mother was impressed. She couldn’t believe how much they could lose in 6 months. I explained that they were working out for 6 hours straight but that didn’t curve her curiosity. Mom then read Ali’s book, “Believe It Be It,” that weekend. There was a growing desire in my mom to change and make better choices. I on the other hand was slowly fading. See when you live in Alaska you just don’t have the same restaurant options like you have down south. (Hmmm rolled tacos, carne asada burritos, Snap out of it)! I was changed by my experience in Hawaii but that conversation in my head started to get louder and louder. I heard, ”While you’re here you should have….” Then the conversation turned to “When I get back I will …..” The good news is that I was not completely out of control. I also recognized what I was doing a whole lot sooner than in the past. That’s huge progress.
Like I said my mom was very curious about Ali’s success story and the road she has taken to change her life. Mom also appreciated Betty Sue’s success. Throughout the stay she would talk about different things that she learned from the book. Things were different between us. We were on the same page. In the past I was always defensive with her whenever the subject of weight was brought up but not this time. I can’t put a finger on what makes this time so different. So when mom decided to suggest a challenge. I was all over it. I even put a dollar amount on it. We began to set the parameters and the competition was on. At first we joshed about the result but in the end mom summed it up in one sentence that was a huge trigger. She said that this time she was so hopeful because “We’re doing it together.” That was all I needed to hear from her after all these years. I felt my heart melt. Why can’t we do this together? TOGETHER we’ll be even stronger.
So the Mother/Daughter Challenge has begun.
August – February
We’ll see what we can lose together.
I had one of my 7th graders from last year say that I looked trim. Wow to still be obese and called trim its kinda cool. He looked great as well. He grew 1/2 a foot, got contacts and lost weight as well. The changes that happen over a summer are amazing. It’s going to be a fun year. I have high hopes.
