Mommy, will you play with me?

I would like to start this post off with kind of a quirk about myself. We have this regular wind up clock in the kitchen and for half a year you have had to add an hour to the time shown on the clock to arrive at the correct time. Let me explain. It is high up on the wall. After you finally get it down you have to unscrew a seemingly insane amount of tiny screws to get at the roller that changes the time. So, I have left it an hour behind this whole time. Now I have to get used to NOT adding an extra hour. It now reads the correct time. :) Heaven forbid if the batteries go out. We will just have a useless clock on the wall. Yep, you all can laugh at me right now.

Another thing happened today, which was really amazing for me. I have always been athletic, and then I gained weight and had no inclination towards moving my butt unless absolutely necessary. Today my girls and I walked to the park. My oldest daughter (4) asked, "Mommy, will you play with me? I want to play tag with you." First of all, it was kind of sweet to have her choose me to play with her out of all the other little kids running around. She usually is content with me watching idly by as she plays with the other kids. Secondly, I played. I ran around and played tag with my little girls. She then wanted to up the stakes: hide n' seek. I agreeably joined in on the idea. I grabbed up my youngest (1) and ran with her in my arms to different hiding places. I had fun. I loved my time this afternoon with my two precious little girls playing. I loved the fact that I could actually move without huffing and puffing or feeling pain and embarrassment. But, the kicker was what another mom said to her friend as I passed by. Her friend said, "Oh, that looks fun." The woman replied, "Yeah, but there is no way I would do that. I am way too out of shape."

I used to be that woman. Not willing or really even completely able to freely play with my child because of that little thing (or big thing) called fat. It truly is amazing what a release of pounds will do for a person in not only the grand ways, but also including all the simple everyday aspects of life.

Come Fly With Me
by James Flynn