REUNION THREAD

Here we go! It's time to catch up with our friends from the Over 50 Forum, Past and Present! You can start posting now and we can go on for days if you'd like... Feel free to tell us how the hell you are, any news you'd like to share, whatever... I hope everyone is well and happy, but if not please let us know if you need any support at all. 

It is time to post! 

Well I guess I'm first to post!!!!

Carl and I left Colorado Nine years ago June 2nd and moved to Florida! We live in Bradentin Florida if anyone doesn't know.

Our daughter Elizabeth got married in 2011 and is going to deliver her second child any day now! She has a 2 and a half year old little girl. Her name is Lavinia! She is my little star!!! I am either in ,y car or on a plane about every six weeks to Chicago! I won't let her grow up without me!!!

my life is crazy busy! I go to a craft group twice a week and a stitching group once a week. I'm an avid crosstitcher. I do go to weekend stitch meets thruout Florida.

Also I belong to a camping group Called The Florida Floozies! Just a bunch of crazy women that get together once a month and go camping. Just right up my alley!

I developed Addisins Desease in 2012 and that keeps me at bay. 

I don't produce Cortisol so my blood pressure drops and I have to be on Prednisone non stop! So I'm not working and that slows me down somewhat.

My brother just moved in with Carl and I. Plus his Dachound. So now I have two dogs and a crazy cat.

My weight has been stable. I'm the lowest I've ever been at 130.

So life is great in that respect.

Im not fighting any regain.

So that's my boring life!

Carla

Carla,

You are so busy and that is great. The reason I still live in AR is because of my grand babies. I love AR don't get me wrong but if my baby girl was a few years older, I'd so head over to the Middle East and teach for two or three years and totally retire wealthy; however, I cannot leave my babies...so I will forever be middle-class...

I'm always amazed at people who camp. Two of my graduate students have spent the last two weeks camping all over AR...and I admire the hell out of them for doing it but the tent thing and outdoor thing would kill me...Be safe out there cause you know, if you watch Criminal Minds, there are some crazies....

Carla,

Glad you've been able to maintain well. . . I love the idea of the Florida Floozies, I miss camping, when I lived in NY, I had a group of friends that I went camping with at least 4 to 6 times a season, but now between work and people's lives changing, oh and the 90+ miles that separates me and those friends and their lives, I haven't gone but once in the past 5 or so years. . . what fun that must be. . . your granddaughter is a sweetheart and I love your posts, some of the wonderful things I remember about you, is how you just seem to go with the flow and your very open nature!

Enjoy your day!

Laureen 

I would love to get a teardrop trailer and do that club. These women go all over with their trailers and enjoy each other's company. I would get such a kick out of that.

Carla your Florida Floozies sounds like a fun group.  I always liked to camp but most folks in my life didn't share my enthusiasm.  Now I am too old to tent camp.  I guess I could if I had a cot and only camped in cool places.  Getting up and down off the ground would be difficult.  However, if you need a fund raiser, charging to watch me try could make a lot of money.

Do you know if you are having a grandson or grand daughter?  Those young years are so precious.  My grand daughter is going to be 5 in a couple of weeks and I will miss those toddler years.  My boys have already passed all that by.  My eldest is headed to middle school and the last time I saw him he was combing his hair and using hair products.  I guess girls won't be to far behind.  My middle grand is 2 years younger than his brother and already claims to have girl friends.  Gonna have to watch that one!!

Enjoy your camping and enjoy your trip to Chicago.  Spoil Vinnie and the new one.  That's what Nanas do.

liz didn't want to know what the sex of the baby was! so this Grammy is squirming!'vin tells me it's a girl, but deep down I think we r having a boy. But now I'm calling it a shim!

Hi Julia, Carla and those to follow. . .

I have been posting here on and off the last couple of weeks, but to let anyone know who's not seen those posts, I had RNY 9 years ago, come October and my life has been anything but boring the last couple of years, unfortunately, I have regained a lot of my weight and sad to say it is just as it was when I was trying to lose it post-WLS, stubborn and not wanting to be lost.  

I am in therapy, probably something I should have done a while ago, but thanks to my daughters, who suggested I might benefit from some outside help to deal with my grief of losing my baby brother, who was 10.5 years younger than I, almost 3 years ago, and for whom I was very much a "mother" to, by the way, his death was listed as obesity related, as well as the issues surrounding a 7 year abusive relationship that I left 13 years ago, but never dealt with and the scars it left, things my grown daughters say, have changed me greatly, so I found someone who is helping me regroup. . . I am someone who eats to soothe feelings, stress eats and boredom eats, so that is pretty much a tough nut to get a handle on, I still have restriction from my smaller stomach, but slider foods can and have done their damage to my scale and dress sizes.  I also turned 60 last June and while I didn't think so, that kind of woke me up in a way that has me thinking about the future and wanting that future to be one of health and the ability to travel and do things I've thusfar been unable to do.  

Otherwise, life has presented me with a wonderful family, my grown children are all doing well, last year presented me with 2 awesome additions, my youngest grandchildren, Wade, now 14 months old (my son Jeff's dividend child, because he was a surprise since their oldest were 9 and almost 8 when he was born), and Juniper, 9 months old.  My youngest daughter, Angela, married Easter weekend to a wonderful man, who treats her as she deserves, with respect and great affection and she now lives less than 4 miles from me (moving from Florida last February).  My oldest daughter (middle child), Marlene is doing wonderfully and is getting married Thanksgiving weekend and her daughter, Sammi, my oldest grandchild has just graduated from High School and will be going to Florida International University to become an architect, she was accepted in the accelerated program, so she will graduate with her masters in 5 years. . .

Additionally, I am now working (almost 3 years now) at a wonderful job, with people who totally think I am wonderful and at a company, where we all work hard, but are rewarded well for our hard work and made to feel valued, my last job, the one I was grateful to have after having lost my job in the downturn of 2008/2009, was horrible and I worked there for 4.5 years, I got this job right after my brother's death, matter of fact I interviewed for it 2 days before he passed and got the call for a 2nd interview the day after, which I had to postpone, which is one of the reasons that I never dealt with my grief, I had to put it on the shelf to show up and perform at my new job. . .  anyway, life is GOOD, just giving the details of what's been happening for any who've not seen me on Facebook or know me from here. . .  

I did have surgery last year, RNY related, twisted intestine that caught up in my hiatal herina, it happened quickly and I am grateful that I didn't postpone going to the hospital longer than I initially did or I could have had a whole different outcome.

I am grateful to this board, the people who supported me on my journey back in 2007 through whenever it was that I stopped coming on here and honestly, part of the reason I think I regained weight was the accountability factor of being part of a group that understands the ups and downs of this post-WLS life, along with the changing of jobs and it changing my routines in such a way as not exercising regularly anymore, plus some health issues that also contributed to my lack of exercise. . .  

Life is good, I am not one to easily give up and so I will find my way back to a healthier weight and I wish and hope that all reading this are healthy and doing well in their lives!

Kind regards to ALL!  Gotta get ready for work now . . .

Laureen

Laureen,

I think every one of us can totally relate to the struggle of regain and the difficulty in taking it off again. I am so glad you have been coming by and joining the group and I am like you, when I am here and things are positive and we support each other, I do well; I hope you hang around and, like me and the others, talk through these times when you drop the ball so we can tell you that you're not alone. I so want all of us to meet this fall, if possible, and have some face-to-face activities that will bring us all closer together. There are lovely cabins in the mountains around here and very easy trails that we could walk a little on...Anyway, please come back and help us keep the motivation going. One of the most important things for me is you and the other gals who know what I am going through. 

I tell my DH every day that I want to see my grandkids succeed so I force him and I force myself to move and eat healthy....we need to be there for them...you need to be here for your babies and eating and moving will add years to your life, right? Number 1 reason for eating healthy is you; number two reason for eating healthy is the babies.  Totally the babies. 

Jeanne,

You are so spot on and I think the reason I drifted from this and regained, in part because I did, was that I didn't feel like this was supportive in the way I needed support and felt that I could do Facebook for what was going on here and didn't have the energy to do both, but as you said last week in different words, this is about the journey we share, that is about the lives we live and it is this journey that gave me a life that I could live out on FB, which as a result of regain and other age related aches and pains, been a little less lively of late.  You also made me feel welcome when I came back and told my story of regain and yes, I do know, just by viture of people who I know where I had my surgery (friends I made), that regain is a very big part of many stories, I also look up to a particular gal, she came back to our support group meeting after 3 years, she had struggled with alcohol dependency as well as regain, she has a number of years sober now, runs the support group and gotten down to her goal weight for herself and is doing fabulous, so I know it can be done, but there are times it seems daunting and I don't want to do what I need to, however, I am doing the Global Corporate Challenge at work and it is a kickstart back to being more physically active and that helps me with better food choices, as it is all tied together. . .

Thanks again for your steadfast support, it means a lot!

Laureen

PS, it would be nice to meet you, maybe it can happen, depending on a few factors in my life, money being one, the other is my oldest daughter is getting married on Thanksgiving weekend in North Carolina (Asheville). . . which is part of the money stuff. . . but if someone pulls it together, perhaps I will be able to manage a getaway. . .