09-20-09..........Sunday

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose."

Dr. Seuss

Good Morning Sister W.W.F.F.,

First off I wanted to let you all know that I heard from Sharilyn via e-mail yesterday, and her mother's funeral will be next Saturday in California. She, her brother & sister-in-law have been busy as you can imagine, but they were taking sometime to take care of themselves as well. Sharilyn, just know our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

What an exciting meeting yesterday, our Jennifer made goal, and waking up this morning still finding it hard to believe. Trust me, I am that way each and every morning, wondering, ''am I truly at goal, or is this a dream?" You will begin your six weeks on maintenance and that can be a bit scary, but just remember what you did last week, and how well that went for you, and I think you will do fine. We are so very proud of you.

We can steer ourselves in any direction we choose. When we make those food choices that are not the best for us, it is not because someone tied us down and force fed us. I choose to eat the candy and have those drink last week. I have found out yet again, ''I am not ready for such things." I am also coming to terms with, "I will probably never be able to handle things like candy, cookie, cakes and some booze in moderation." In a way it is sad to have to come to terms with that, but on the other hand, I am being realistic.

So what direction are you going to be choosing this week? Are you going to continue to halfway do the program, are you going to stand up and shout from the roof tops, "I AM WORTH THE HARD WORK AND EFFORT IT TAKES TO BE HEALTHY!" Whether you actually shout that out or just shout it in your head, it is still the same, you/me/we are taking a stand. It is time to make a decision, make a plan and stick with it. Does not matter that in a few short weeks the major eating months are going to be upon us.

Was my indulgence with Bob's candy worth all that worry I did last week? Being afraid I had gained a bunch of weight? At the time I was stuffing the candy in my mouth, gaining weight was the furthest thing from my brain. After that first taste of the sweet stuff, it was as if I was in a coma, I never even tasted the candy. This will always be a journey for us, we are never going to be cured. We will always have a birthday party, a vacation, the holidays, it's Thursday, there is going to always be something that we feel the need to celebrate. Just think of the direction you want to be heading in make a road map (plan) and get started on that journey. What better day to start than today.