Inspired

This morning, I was reading the blogs that I check regularly, and I was inspired by Donna Downey, scrapbooker, artist extraordinaire, and creator of the Inspired Artist Workshop. She shared her weight loss story (she has lost almost 50 pounds since January 2008 and has begun running 5k and 10k races) and though I had read pieces of it before, the thing that struck me today was that she said “i like that i only compete with myself and enjoy the time spent challenging my body to perform.”

“I only compete with myself…” That’s what I need to do. I am competing with so many images in my head: actresses, models, coworkers, everyone who is thinner than me. I need to stop thinking about other people and think of myself. Yes, I want to lose weight and be healthy for my husband and my son, for my doctor who said she’d like me to lose 10 pounds, for others who I feel look at me and see me as overweight. But they key is that I need to do it for myself. I need to want to be healthy and to lose weight, or it will never happen.

I am inspired to compete with myself and to see what this body can do. God created this body, so I know that it can do great things!

Why does moving have to be so emotional?

Packing is in full swing, and there are boxes everywhere! There is a lot of work to do, but I have also had some time to think about this move. Moving is exciting and scary at the same time.

It hit me a few days after we signed the purchase agreement that we had legally agreed to buy this house. I felt sick for a minute as I thought of all of the negative things about the house (not that there are many): the small yard, the small master bathroom, the outdated kitchen. Of course, I felt that same way after I had signed the lease for my first apartment, too, and I ended up loving that apartment. I know I'll love our new house, too.

I also got teary eyed when I thought of the duplex being Nathaniel's only home so far. He's just starting to know his room and points to it when he wants to crawl up the stairs to go play with his toys up there. In the new house, there won't be stairs to crawl up to get to his room, and he loves crawling up stairs! There are stairs from the basement to the main floor, but that doesn't seem quite the same to me. I really will miss the duplex. It was our home when Del and I got married and the home we brought our newborn baby to.

I know that we will make this new house ours and that we all will love it! I'm looking foward to having more space, having Nathaniel's room on the main floor so that he can go play whenever he wants, having a dedicated scrapbook space, having a two-car garage.... It will be a great house, and though it will be the first home we will own, the duplex will always be our first home.