Hello & happy 1 year birthday to me!

Hello & happy 1 year birthday to me! 1 year ago today, I was in the hospital preparing for my surgery. My life has changed so much. I have lost 102 lbs. & over 140 inches! I have gone from a size 24 to 12 & 14's! I wear medium & large. My life is so different then it was just 12 months ago. I am normal. I am healthy. I am in love. I am going to ***** Cana in the Dominican Republic next month to celebrate my new life. I only need to loose another 18 lbs, or so, to hit my personal goal. I am the thinnest that I have been in almost 15 years! Loosing all of this weight has made many changes in my relationship with my daughter. In some strange way, it seems to scare her. She thinks that her life has changed because I am dating. But, I believe her life has changed because she is going on 14, in her last year of middle school & her Mom has become an emerging butterfly. I am no longer building my whole world around her & food. I am actually having a fulfilling life of my own. The life that God intended for me to have. Life still is hectic. Yesterday, my basement flooded because the hose to my ice maker had a hole in it. I heard water running 15 mins before I had to leave to go to a Memorial service for 1 of my dear girlfriends. I called my boyfriend, he talked me through what I needed to do. My Dad & I got it under control. I went to the funeral. He fixed it when he got off of work & life marches on. Having the surgery does not make our lives stress free. Yet, somehow, we learn to handle things better. Incidences, like my home flooding, become more manageable... I am able to handle things without blowing them completely out of proportion. I am at peace with myself & my life. Would I have this surgery all over again? YOU BET! Congratulations to all of us, wherever we are in our personal journeys. May God continue to bless us all! Peace out!

Happy Anniversary to you too! My surgery was 4-21-03. It is hard to believe that it has been over 1 year but at the same time it seems like a life time ago. I am 3 lbs below goal,have lost 100 lbs and am completely off all of my medicines. I have gone from a size 22 to a 6. Now the goal is to keep it off,I guess that is my biggest fear. I never want to be like I was before. I can eat pretty much any thing I want,no sugars no fried foods though,dumping bad,which is a blessing I believe. I am blessed not to have to have any plastic surgery either, things aren't as they use to be but the again I am 44 and a grandma of 3, my hsuband says it is like being married to a new person,he has never seen me this size. I do believe that the stress factor is not as bad as before either,but then again we have a weight lifted off of us(HA HA).Lets just keep up the good work and be a blessing in someone else's life and an angel like what we have had.