where is everyone?? ROLL CALL!!

just curious where the heck everyone is hiding out these days.. mary, shelley, Theresa S, marcie, sarah, chris, dina, renee, nadine, joan, michelle? geeeze, I know I am leaving out some important people!! tammy I KNOW where YOU are LOL and brandi you've been vocal so your getting left out too.. LOL, just kidding!! what's everyone been doing? *How* is everyone doing? come on spill it.. what's everyone been so busy with?? Theresa

Theresa: I'm trying to calm my shattered nerves! Just kidding. Saw my PCP on Monday and he gave me a big thumbs up for the surgery. Monday I go to my pre-admit at the hospital. Wednesday I go see my surgeon. Saturday, I start the dreaded three-day clear liquid diet. Seriously, I am a little worked up about that because of my diabetes. I hope I don't go hypoglycemic. Well, I'll just have to watch it. Anyway, that's it for me. That's why I haven't been on the board. I'm way too boring. Pam

Please NO ONE IS MORE BORING THAN I AM... LOL.. that's why I am on here wondering what the hell everyone else is doing... LOL I gotta live through OTHER people... *sigh* I'm so happy for you.. but I also am so sad for you too.. that liqiud diet SUCKS.. but it's NOT as bad as the bowel prep.. do you have to do that? for me that was the worst part of the whole dam surgery including the recovery time... LOL keep us up to date on things.. Theresa

Hi Theresa, I agree, things are pretty quiet around here. My 13 year old daughter and 15 year old son just left for a week in the Bay Area today. My husband was able to take them to the airport, as he is out of town on business until this weekend. I have been working on a never ending "to do list" all week, trying to get them out of here. As you know, being responsible for kids is so damn hard sometimes. They really have no idea until they reach middle age, and are responsible for someone themselves. As I spent a hot afternoon at the laundry mat, because my son's two suitcases from camp were too crammed with dirty clothes (oh yeah and the sleeping bag and cabin bedding) to deal with at home, I felt such GRATITUDE towards my own mother. I know there were plenty of equally exhausing selfless moments she did for me. Sadly, she didn't live long enough to truly say the complete THANK YOU I owe her, though we were very close. My 11 year old daughter, husband and I are joining them the following week. I am feeling some serious anxiety about this trip. We moved up here ten years ago from there, and my husband's family is there. I also have a brother, and sister there. No one outside my husband, son, and a sister in London, know I had WLS. It is has been such an amazing, successful journey, and I am not ashamed of it, but I have been very grateful to be able to experience it in my own time, without outside influence. Partly, in the early stage, my husband's parents would have been so worried, it would have stressed me. Being that I had surgery in April, any weight loss escaped notice before school got out for the summer. After several months of this relative anonymity, now I am going to be in the thick of it. O.K. honest truth..surprise, surprise, it's my husband's family encounter that has me all stirred up. My brother is a bachelor, and a sweety. He developed diabetes, and that helped scare me into action. My sister has a heart of gold, but lives a very disfunctional life. My husband is supportive of seeing her, but I suffer from guilt as to why she lives the life she lives, and how can it be, that I am not far from being her. A paranoid thought, but I struggle with it whenever I see her through my husband's eyes. Anyways, my husband's family is very stable. They are good, solid, midwestern folks, and we have always gotten along very well. It is more that in relation to my weight, I have always been aware of their unspoken judgement, disappointment for their son/brother. I have always felt like no matter how good of a mother, wife, homemaker I am, first and always first I am very fat. They have never once been unkind about it, and I know I put them in a hard spot, from the perspective of my own mind. Still, the pain of having always been judged for being fat, makes me heap all kinds of pressure on myself, in relation to seeing them. I should be OVERJOYED that I will show up 90 pounds lighter, that I don't have to make this trip and face them at 320 pounds. I feel some kind of mourning and pain though, for who I have been the last ten years. I am the same person, but being fat made something about me seem so wrong. AHHHH! I guess these are some of those post-op feelings I here come up. I also am driving myself crazy with wishing we weren't going this soon. I look so much better than I did, but I am still a big girl. It would feel better to have gone down when I was closer to goal. I have mixed feelings about if I want to even tell them I had the surgery. I am able to tolerate so many things, that I don't think my eating stands out so much that it really requires explaining. It feels dishonest to not give WLS the credit for the incredible direction my weight is going in. My daughter is beautiful. She wore a pair of shorts, the kind of top with the thin little straps (it has a built in bra), and flip flops. She is dressed like 9 out of 10 girls her age. My husband thought maybe she was a little under-dressed, but noticed at the airport everyone is dressed that way now days. The first thing my mother-in-law said on the phone when I checked that they arrived O.K. was "don't take this wrong O.K., but Rebecca was dressed awfully skimpy for being at the airport. Hey you know, she could get grabbed. I am looking out for her". My husband walked her onto the plane, she was with her 5'10", strong brother, and her uncle met her right at the gate. I tell you, that made me feel like see here comes the judgement. As if I don't look out for her. Not "oh she has turned into such a beautiful girl, gee I like her new hair style, etc." Three neighbor girls were over today, and they all had on exactly the same thing. I think part of it is that she is a high level gymnast, and does have a really amazing body. People aren't used to seeing a girl her age with such muscle, and she doesn't look like the three neighbor girls in the same outfit. I don't know.....see what you get when you put out a call for some contact Theresa!? I have rambled on, but like I said, I am feeling alot of feelings about my trip. It has a lot to do with my weight issues, and I really wish I could just shed the head trips along with the pounds! Patty

Hey patty, ramble away girl!! it really sounded as if you NEEDED to get that off your chest... try to always remember that no one is perfect.. no one walks on water and everyone has skelatons in their closets.. so next time your MIL is making you feel judged (on purpose or not) smile to your self and just *wonder* where/what are those skelatons??? LOL it helps me when I start feeling like that.. I had a grandmother and a MIL that would try to make me feel like dirt each time I seen them.. one day it HIT ME.. my grandmother was born in canada but orgianly came from england with the maiden name of "windsor" with her snobby ass attitude you'd think she had came directly from the freaken palace.. well, she married a cotton picker from missouri.. so jump off that high horse lady!! my x-MIL moved to the states at the age of 25 from holland and is equally snobby as my grandmother. she adopted my x at birth and made sure he knew how grateful "HE" should be every freaken day of his life.. gee don't need a pysch degree to figure out why he is so damaged!! enjoy your vacation.. don't worry about what they will think about your surgery or how you lost weight.. it's no ones biz "HOW" you did it.. the fact is that *YOU* did/are doing it!! be PROUD of your self and it will show through.. and if it comes out that you had surgery, oh well.. it's not the easy way out.. and don't let anyone make you feel like it is.. again be PROUD that you were able to have the surgery when so many are not.. Your not a failure becuase You had to have WLS.. no one makes alcoholic's who get liver transplants a feel like failure or heart transpant patients or, or, or, or.... (oops sorry didn't mean to go off on a vent there!!) write anytime Theresa

Teresa- I know you know where I am...busy being party girl like You! Call me tonight, have something to tell you Patty- It's not dishonest not to talk about it, it's just a private thing. I don't like to talk about mine either. Even amonst other WLS folks, because some of them are downright hostile about my choice to have VBG instead of RNY. If someone asks you how you lost weight, tell them the truth- that you don't feel comfortable talking about it yet. Have fun on your trip! Tammy

oh girl, you can't leave me hanging until tonight.. give me a call on your break!!! or email me privately... you gonna make me go wondering all day long!! theresa

I'm here! Just got back from Canada late Sunday night. I've been working and resting for the most part! Vacation was great...I rode bikes, went down the tubes a couple of times at the water park, swimming and rode along in the ski boat (those wakes are a pain in the side...literally!) I'm finally tan...for once in my life! Don't think I'll be able to keep it going though....no more days lying on my air mattress in the lake...back to work! My daughters left Monday for Vale, probably back Saturday but then I think they're going to my parent's house at the beach. I probably won't see much of them until the week before school...then they'll be back in time to take my money for school shopping. Just kidding....they're great! Kevin's son is still around through the weekend at least. He's a great kid, if only a little bit "needy" of his dad at 13 years old. He needs to get weaned, but I understand it's normal for an only child. We haven't had a bit of time without kids all summer....I think I'm ready for some adult time! Ugh! 3 weeks post-op, I weighed in today....down 19.5 lbs so far, wondering if I can make it 30 by 4 weeks out. If not, no biggie...I'm still very happy. I have 5 winks on my belly....now I REALLY can flirt! lol I've dumped twice...both times because I ate too fast. I need to work on slowing down. Joined a walking group and starting back to the gym next week. Going to the airshow this weekend and maybe Sauvie's Island to lounge around. Sooooooooo where's everyone else? Michele

michele, OMG, I can't believe how active you have been after just having major surgery!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now I feel like a wuss that at 4 weeks going to disney world I had to take "breaks" from walking around and riding rides.. Plus I don't think I was eating real food at 4 weeks.. I think I was still on pureed.. it's all a blur and I honestly don't remember but I was on clear liquids for 14 days then full liquids for 10 days and so on and so on.. I was fine but I was weak.. yup, that time of year.. SCHOOL SHOPPING.. *gag* and it just doesn't stop there.. all the fee's at the begining of the school year are gonna literaly kill me!! not to mention my son is in football... oh well, it's just money right? LOL Your doing great.. drop me a line sometime or give me a call Theresa

Roll Call, Ummm, I am here!! Took my Final today, and the teacher graded it in class and handed out our final grades and :::::::::::drumroll please:::::::::: I maintain my 4.0 by the skin of my teeth!!!!!!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO I cried with joy and felt sooo much stress roll off me on the drive home, I am exhausted!!!!!!! I have been doing this since January and I am soo glad to have a break now!! Brandi