Busy, busy, busy!

Since working afternoon shift, I don't seem to have time to do much. It's all I can manage to get up at a reasonable hour and run errands, go to the gym, clean the house, do laundry, etc. I need to do all these things BEFORE I go to work because while I am a bit of a night owl, I'm not much in the mood to run around all over the place at 1 a.m. So this blog has been very neglected. When I logged in just now, I couldn't believe it had been APRIL since I last submitted an entry. Wow.

Well....a lot has happened since then! I have been extremely busy and things are happening fast and furious. Here's a "quick" rundown. As always, click on the thumbnails for the full photos.

May:
I took my Canadian citizenship test. They only give you about a week's notice! I studied a lot and felt pretty good about the outcome. The day after the test, I participated in a local Run-A-Lung 5K event to raise awareness and funds for organ donation in Ontario. A young girl named Kayla Baker gained local fame through her efforts for this cause - she herself needed a double lung transplant. She had been scheduled to be at the event, but received a single lung unexpectedly a few weeks beforehand. She was there via Skype, and the community really came together for her. I was still not 100% recovered from the 5K RUN, so I opted to walk it. As I mentioned before, I don't think I'll be doing any more running. Too hard on my body.


In my previous blog about my initial visit to Dr. Nan's office, I mentioned that he'd told me to call back in 4 weeks. So...I did that. His assistant (NOT a people person; she has the wrong job) got pretty irate with me and said it takes her 4 weeks to submit paperwork to OHIP, then another 6-8 weeks to hear back. I was like WTF?? Seriously. WTF? I was pretty upset about this, but tried to brush it off. All I could do was wait.

Erich and I celebrated our 12th anniversary in Toronto. We went to the CN Tower - Erich, who has lived here for 30 years, had never been up to the top - and had dinner at Medieval Times. What a wonderful day. When I do a lot of walking, I am still so grateful that I can! I don't think I'll ever forget how far I've come and take movement for granted. It's such a wonderful thing to be able to live your life. It truly is a gift. It had been about 11 years since I'd been to the tower, and at that time, I refused to step on the glass floor. I was always afraid things would break away with me...and they wanted me to step on a glass floor?? Were they nuts?? But this time I did it.


June:
The very next weekend, we set out for Niagara Falls and the Women's Half Marathon (21.1K). Yes, that's right. I did it!! I mentioned it briefly back in March, but I signed up in February. When I posted about the race on my bariatric surgery support group's Facebook page, it sort of took on a life of its own and several of us signed up to do it together. Some people dropped out over time for one reason or another, but a few of us really went down there and gave it hell! Of course we all walked it. Again...no running for me.

I was not able to train properly for this race because I was still battling physical pain from the run I did in March. My knees and back were taking me back to my 450-pound days with the way they were bothering me. I was at the chiropractor several times and went through an entire bottle of Tylenol Arthritis. I was actually a little worried - why wasn't I bouncing back? And I had a half marathon to train for!! So I was very nervous about the event. Plus, due to some noisy neighbors at our hotel, I only got about 3 hours of sleep the night before.

For the first 10-12K, it was fairly easy. I was trotting along, music pounding in my ears. There were people cheering us on all along the course. Very nice. When I got to about 18K, I hit a wall. I got dizzy and my stomach felt very upset. There were medical personnel watching us and all I could think was "There is no way I've walked 18K to wimp out and be taken out of the race. Straighten the hell up and FINISH." I talked myself off that wall and kept going. It wasn't easy and I slowed down quite a bit, but I finished well under the 4-hour time limit. When I saw Erich at the finish line - and a row of firemen, who were on hand to give us our medals - it was all worth it. I swear, there is a high that comes with crossing a finish line unlike anything. It's so fantastic and yes, very addictive. Granted, I've never taken any drug in my life, ever, but this is pretty damn cool.

I had another first right afterwards. Massage students were there providing free massages to participants. I decided to take advantage and waited in line. The tables looked pretty flimsy to me, as they always had and why I'd never entertained getting a massage when I was so obese. Again, there's the notion that I will break anything I sit/stand/lie on. Plus, I would've been very self conscious having someone put his or her hands on me. I would think THEY would think, "UGH...I have to touch this disgusting person??" But I tried to push past that because I knew my body would benefit from the massage. I climbed on the table carefully and it didn't break. The tiny little student went to work on me and I didn't die of embarrassment. At least, not until my husband mentioned how my excess skin & flab was jiggling around all over the place as she manipulated me. Thanks, hon!! I so appreciate that. Sometimes he doesn't think. Ah well. I'm sure the massage helped; I was surprised by how UNsore I was. I had been pretty sure I was going to have to call in sick to work the next day, but nope. I was fine. One small blister and a bit of soreness in my shoulders, of all things. Some of us have already signed up for next year's race.


I found out I passed the citizenship test and took my oath of citizenship on June 10! I am officially a dual citizen now. NO, I didn't have to give up my U.S. citizenship. I've had about 1,000 people ask me that. LOL! The night before the ceremony, I found a red dress and wore that with two pairs of Spanx so I'd look somewhat normal. Kinda crazy to think this is what I might look like post-tummy tuck. You can see in the third photo from the half marathon (minus Spanx) how desperately it's needed.


And...the next weekend, we were off to London for the annual Father's Day 5K for Prostate Cancer Canada. My father is a survivor, so I do this one for him each year. It's not the most organized race, but I'll do it because it's an important cause.


And...the next weekend (LOL), we traveled to Ohio for my 25th high school reunion. I have a lot of my old classmates on Facebook and was looking forward to connecting with them in person. Well....most of them didn't show, which was disappointing. However, I did have fun talking with those who did. It was a good weekend all around.


That first photo is important for the following reason...and since I've told her the story, I'll now "out" her and remind you all of a blog I posted a while back about my experiences with bullying. The woman in the photo with me is named Rana, and Rana was the little girl who took up for me in 6th grade science class when a bully tried to cut me down to size. When I told her this story at the reunion, she of course didn't remember it but was so pleased I shared it with her and gave me a big hug. She has been one of my cheerleaders on Facebook and I know she is so happy for me now. The irony of her career as a personal trainer speaks to the kind-hearted person she was and is - she wants to help people. It's her nature.

I have a lot more to tell you! My tummy tuck surgery has been schedule for...wait for it...AUGUST 12!! I am excited beyond belief but pretty nervous. How that date came about is a blog all by itself so I'll save that story for after July 4th, which is when I go see Dr. Nan again and start my pre-op testing. So I'll talk to you soon!!