ROOTS... FOLKLORE... Seeds & Weeds.... Full Circle NSV

I received the most precious gift ever,  an awesome Pollera Tiriada,  one of my native country's national folkloric dresses complete with tembleques, the head adornments, which was sent to me via my niece upon returning to the USA this past Wednesday to receive her second Master's at U of Buffalo on Friday.   This pollera is one of my departed sister Dr. Maria Carmela's awesome collection.  Maria Carmela, Mela to all danced and was a very active participant in a Conjunto Típico, a panamanian folkloric group which was her favorite passtime away from her job as the Chief of Intensive Care at the Children's Hospital in Panamá.  Her awesome and very expensive collection of polleras and montunas were willed to my sister Rosita, myself and her nieces my daughter included.  The dresses are bulky and heavy and I was sooooooooooooooo surprised at the beautiful gift sent to me by my sister Rosita with my niece ... Mela's Pollera Tiriada ... OMG... it was like Christmas in May...

This is a downloaded picture of a Panamanian Pollera Tiriada for reference...

This is me on yesterday so honored to wear my eldest sister's awesome and totally adjustable pollera tiriada panameña.. I slipped right into it and donned the braids and the tembleques like it was just yesterday that I wore a pollera with the tembleques my mom would make ... it was like second nature ... I remembered... because my roots are still there... my heart never left ... 

Putting on my Pollera Tiriada and taking pictures in it yesterday was such an awesome feeling and an awesome NSV ... I would have never been able to carry it off wearing one of my sister's dresses at my highest weight of 327 pounds ...I was the ONLY morbid obese person in my immediate family...  It also made me happy because on Mother's Day I made a pollera for the doll I made with poured porcelain and my kiln in remembrance of my mom ... inspired by that my sister paid extra to send the heavy, bulky pollera up with my niece ... and I love it....

This is my mom (RIP) wearing a Pollera Montuna .. another version of the Panamenian Pollera...

 This is the doll I made with a mold and poured porcelain ... I fired up my kiln and shared her months ago but for Mother's Day I made her a pollera ... My Dedes doll.. Dedes was what we called our mom María Mercedes ... she was unique and special and the love of our lives ... she sewed ALL of our clothes... a stay home mom we were the center of her life ... like her I have met no other.... to this day I miss my mom .... she worried sick about my morbid obesity and did not live to see me lose it all and keep it off but I think from wherever she is she sees me and encourages me to press on.... I was so inspired to make a pollera for the porcelain doll and made in her liking...

And I made a collage of all four of us, my Mom and my sisters in order of birth ... all four of us in Polleras .... EMPOLLERADAS.... it made me soooooooooooooooooooo happy to once again wear my Pollera and YES!!! I am looking for a panamanian folklore dance group to join ..in the meantime I danced tamborito and mejorana right here at home....

Collage my mom and my sister Mela (RIP) at the top and myself and my sister Rosita on the bottom - both of us wearing Mela's awesome polleras...

I am so inspired by this ... no one knows but me how much my mom and my eldest sister were such great influence on my life pre and post weight loss surgery.  My sister Mela was my angel and it was her idea that I track my weightloss journey in a picture journal "A Picture A Day Keeps the Pounds and the Inches Away" ... 

At 7 years and 3 months post RNY I am maintaining a total loss of 203 pounds and a clean bill of health with perfect labs and stamina and endurance for my age ... I am grateful for an awesome tool and the awesome space that OH provides where I can share SNIPPETS OF MY JOURNEY!!! Thank you ALL!!! and have a lovely Sunday!!!!

My BEFORE....

MY NOW...

THANKS FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE!!!! Food for thought seeds and weeds share by my awesome friend Darice:"Your life is your garden, your thoughts are your seeds, if your life isn't awesome, you've been watering the weeds. Word to the wise get rid of those weeds!! "

What a beautiful outfit and the doll you made in memory of your mom is amazing too. Get out there and find a group to dance with too! What great exercise that would be! I love to do things now that I couldn't have done 140 pounds ago because it reminds me of where I have come from. I got a new dog Friday from a rescue shelter and we walked all over our little town yesterday just because we could. She is a beautiful 5 year old female boxer rescued from a puppy mill and is so full of love she makes me smile! Thanks for sharing your journey with us and have a great Sunday!

Oh WOW! Congrats on your new dog ... she'll bring you TONS of happiness ... how awesome .. I am so happy for you... I am just coming back in as my DH said I should do justice to my pollera so we went down to the pier and had lunch and he took pics of me on the boardwalk .. a woman said my dress was beautiful and asked if I was getting married LOL ... 

I could not resist the invite .. it is a BEAUTIFUL warm and sunny day and the sea breeze was AWESOME after a long winter...

Just lovely!

Thank you Kathryn 

Thank you!!! 

Thank you so much for sharing! Your story and legacy from your mom and sisters brought tears to my eyes! And you look beautiful!!!

Thank you Tanya ... this morning my husband said I should do justice to my sister's dress and invited me for lunch down by the pier ... I was talking about prawns another sista on her posted earlier ... well I did do justice to my Pollera on the boardwalk and I had awesome prawns for lunch too ... Win Win ... I am sooooooooooo happy for the bright warm sunny day ... after the dragged out winter it is more than welcome ... Thank you soooooooooooo much for your support and encouragement!!! 

I love reading your posts and seeing your digital empowerment photos. You are such an inspiration...   Thank you for sharing your journey.