I THOUGHT OF YOU TODAY...

I thought of you today. As I began my workout, thoughts of wanting to be anywhere else doing anything other than working out were slowly and systematically replaced with thoughts of you. I thought of Ken and his tremendous achievements and the humble way in which he shares his stories with the sole purpose of providing us with help and support; I thought of Dina and marveled at how much I miss her posts, so full of warmth and wisdom; I thought of Elizabeth and her sweet and genuine cheerfulness no matter how difficult her struggles have been; I thought of Mike and sent a silent prayer of thanks for his unwavering support and friendship these past many months; I thought of Connie and her Band Dude and I smiled. I thought of all things Connie, all the laughs, all the hand-holding and pulling us along when we experienced a temporary lapse of strength and perseverance. And then I bumped it up a notch, a little faster, a little longer in the run...I thought of Joy and realized with a pang that I have been missing her as well; I thought of Janelle and her gorgeous family; Rhen and wondered how her Dad is doing; I thought of Nick and hoped his TT went ok on Tuesday; I thought of Pam and hoped we'd meet soon, and Louise and her incredible transformation; I thought of Jen and wondered what that wealth of wisdom and Herculean strength was up to, and Martha, wondering the same thing but then realizing she must be out playing with boyfriend number 129! Would that I had her energy! I sprang forward a little faster and felt the strength surge through the new muscles in my thighs and smiled again. "If anyone is watching me," I thought sardonically, "surely they will assume I have gas. Lots of it." They would be right, of course. I thought of Marilyn and wondered why she called herself the bearlady; I thought of Margo and how much I admired her tenacity no matter what; oh, I thought of all of you today, I heard your voices in my head, I felt your presence in my heart. And I realized suddenly that I was soaring, barely winded, working out with the fitness level of a 20 year old...well, that's pushing it but you get my drift. I thought of our beginnings, and then I thought of Reenie and saw her/me discovering this Board just a week away from surgery, remembering how frightened and alone I felt, all 335 lbs. of me, taking that tentative, shy first step toward making the connection with all of you, some of whom are no longer with us, literally or by choice. I thought of Rob, remembering how we gathered ourselves together all over the country at precisely the same moment in time and from our own little specs in the world that we each call home, we raised our collective thoughts in prayer to heal this man at a time when we were barely into our own recoveries. My arms pumped harder and my heart beat faster, not from exertion but from pride. Suddenly, I was the Grinch when at that magical moment he discovered love in his heart. That's what you are to me, my friends. Whoville. No one in my life has ever been so accepting of me, so patient with me, so supportive and understanding of who I am, the good, the bad, the ugly of it, than this group of people. I just had to let you know and say thank you. Reenie

What a great post. You brought a tear to me eye, as the Irish people in my family say. Sounds like you had a break through moment, and your mind quit telling you that you couldn't do it. Keep at it, making progress is most of the fun.

You're my hero! Reenie

Ah Maureen, you do have a way with words....I'm with Ken, what a great post!! When names are mentioned on this board, we must include Reenie,the glue that holds us all together. As far as who you are, my friend....... its all GOOD!!!! Ain't no room for BAD and UGLY!! Mike

You ain't seen me nekked! Reenie

sending a huge hug to you, reenie, in your corner of Whoville!!!! someday i'd like to do that in person!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, I'd love that, Margo! Reenie

Reenie, You are the most wonderful writer. I love your focus and clarity when you write. Thoughts go through my head at such a frenetic pace that it's sometimes hard for me to put them down in a logical order. I too think of you guys all the time. I sort of have a running conversation in my head with this board throughout the day. OK, it's not as scary as it sounds. It's not like my neighbor's dog talks to me or anything. When I have wls moments during the day, I think that I should come and share them. When I have a question, this is the place I come. There's not another group of people on earth that can understand my wls issues better than you guys. Love ya, Reenie. Connie

To say that's an honor coming from you is an understatement! I love the way we all get each other; very comforting, a wonderful virtual port in the storm. Hugs, baby -- Reenie

'Reen, thank you for this post. I think we're really fortunate to have eachother. I checked out the March '03 board one time and it was no where near as active. We have a lot of special people, who are committed to succeeding at this surgery and in life, and *****cognize that keeping in touch with eachother is part of it. Thanks to every Marcher, for your stories and insights, troubles and successess. STICK AROUND. Jen