Thanksgiving blues & a little of this and that

Wow...I can't believe that the holidays are here already!  Steve and I will be doing a lot of driving this Thanksgiving as we are driving to his Dads house on Wednesday afternoon...200+ miles, than Thanksgiving morning we will all be heading to Peggy's, my Dads companion, who lives on the west coast of FL, 200+ miles...after dinner we will head back to Steve's Dads house, 200+ miles than on Friday morning back home...200+ miles.  I'm tired already!

When we moved to FL in 2008, Thanksgiving was the first holiday that I had to deal with not being with my girls and family in NY.  However, having my Dad here made it a lot easier.  I treasure the 2 Thanksgivings that we spent with him here in FL.  Going to Peggy's last year was so hard...knowing that he wouldn't be there and being surrounded by her family.    Don't get me wrong, I love them all but my Dad was such a huge presence that his not being there was felt so strongly.  Peggy had a candle burning the whole day to acknowledge my Dad's absence.

This past Friday was 18 months since my Dad and brother-in-law Jimmy were tragically killed.  For some reason, this milestone has affected so many of us in the family more so than others.  My nephew, who is usually so stoic, posted something on Facebook today that just made me cry.  It was so unlike him to share his feelings in such a public venue that it hit me like a ton of bricks:  we both lost our fathers on the same day.  The difference is, he was 18 and I was 47.  We share such a bond and yet I was blessed with having my dad for so many more years than he and his sister did.  Its just not fair.

Please, don't ever text and drive.  My family and I are living proof of the results of that deadly combination.

Anyway, back to Thanksgiving.  Like I said, I love Peggy and her whole family and I am Thankful that we will all be together.  I will still miss my girls but at least I will be spending Christmas with them in New York!  The following weekend, my sister is flying here and I will pick her up at the airport and drive back to Peggys to spend the day/night with her.  It will be nice for the 3 of us to get to spend some time together and I am really looking forward to having my sister here almost to myself for the weekend!  So what if I'm driving all over the state of FL again!  Family is what it's all about!

Oh, and speaking of Thanksgiving and family, my mama's birthday falls on Thanksgiving this year!  She was actually born on Thanksgiving too and that is how she received her nickname, Bunny.  My uncle said she looked like a turkey and my grandmother said "she does not, she looks like a little Bunny!"  79 years later, she still looks like a Bunny!  I better be getting her b-day card in the mail tomorrow!

Mama and most of her girls!

I finally feel like I am back in the gym groove!  I started slowly last week and am pushing through it this week.  I am so sore but it really feels great.  Scale is holding steady at 144 which is 6 lbs under my goal.  I am very Thankful for that!

The ease of gaining weight back has been a hot topic these past few days and boy, I am here to tell you, it truly is a constant battle....I cry to Steve some days that I just want to be "normal".  I hate weighing myself every single day and thinking about what I am going to be eating all the time.  I am constantly counting calories, carbs, protein, etc.  It will be like this for the rest of my life.   Please don't get me wrong....I wouldn't trade this for the world.  I'm just whining.  My band and now my sleeve have truly given me my life back.  I'll deal with all this any day if it means never having to be obese again!

I have one more dr visit on Monday and I am sure he will be giving me the all-clear!  What an ordeal!  I will be so happy to put that all behind me.