Stepping out in public

"The code of man" That is funny! I am past the phase where everybody comments on my weight now. It is now just the people that are closer to me, and it no longer holds that uncomfortable "are you dying" type vibe to it. (Cancer free for a couple years now with goal weight being over 4 years ago.) But for future posterity clever well prepared answers is really helpful!

One response I started with back when our kids were young (as in teenage, not toddler or anything like that), was "Yes, I'm dying.  But not today."  I think it was the time their grandmother went into the hospital, and they were a little worried for her.  I said, "Grandma's going to die.  But not from this."  here we are 15 years later and Grandma is still with us.  

I have since used it on people I know in general when the opportunity arises.  It was startling and humorous all at the same time, and had the effect of derailing the conversation and giving me a chance to divert it.  Part of what made it work though, is my reputation for being just a little outrageous from time to time with humor that makes people have to think about it for a few seconds.  I stay away from coarse types of outrageous, although every now and then, I will skirt the edge of risqué. 

Gorgeous work! Do you have a website?

It sounds like it went rather well. I didn't tell anybody about my surgery but everybody I know, including co-workers, have watched me lose 125lbs on the Quick Weightloss Program and yo-yo on many other diets so they don't ask too many questions. I do hear the " I bet you feel better" comment very often. 

I did, but it has been down for a while.  I didn't worry about getting it back up because I was all tied up with remodeling our kitchen and getting ready for surgery.  I am getting back to work this month (January) so I expect I will need to get that going again.  I may just do something on Facebook though.  That way I don't have to learn a bunch of coding (or pay someone else).

Thank you for your kind words on my work.  Things went very well.

The one compliment that gets kind of tiring, although I know people mean it in a good way is, "I'll bet you feel a whole lot better now, don't you!"  I am tempted to respond, "Well I did, until just now."  But I know they mean to be nice, at least the vast majority.  And people always feel compelled to say something.

Funny, this is the thing I try to get people TO talk about regarding my weight loss...I hear so much "OMG, you look great!!!"  and for me, that part is nice but I FEEL so much better and that's what I'm more focused on.

I also get a lot of "wow, you look so different with your hair longer!", and I always come back to that one with "funny how much thinner that makes you look, eh?" and a wink.  

Anyway, congrats on debuting LITTLE LittleBill and I'm so glad it went well :)

If I had presented Little LittleBill, I might be typing from a jail cell.    But I know what you mean.  Thank you.  

ROFL, I thought about that right as I hit 'submit' 

One time I had a student show up with the barn door open, if you know the expression.  I pointed it out to him and said, "You can zip that up.  We won't be using that to do any turning today."  He turned bright red, but he laughed pretty hard about it.  

Your work is absolutely amazing!! One of my favorite men in the world - my father-in-law- was a wood worker so I know how much talent it takes to create something that beautiful.

I find it interesting that the comment about feeling better is the one that disturbs you. Wonder if that is also a "man vs woman" thing. I seem to feel uncomfortable with people who put too much emphasize on the fact that I "look" better. It makes me feel like they thing this journey is all about the weight and looks. I really want them to understand that this is not vanity. I was trying not to die from diabetes as other members of my family have.

Congrats on a great night!!

I am not sure.  Here's something that you might find funny.  I have an extremely deep voice. Even when I was at my heaviest, women would approach me and get all gushy.  Some of them even came onto me, even with Mrs. LittleBillJr standing right there!  But it would always start out with, "Oh, you have a wonderful voice" or something to that effect.  But when some guy would say, "Oh, I love your voice", I would get all creeped out - shivers and everything.