This assignment seemed easy when Lori brought it up last night, but the more thought I put into it the harder it seems. Some of the things that have come to mind are rather simple, while others quite emotionally driven. Keep in mind as I go through this my inspirations will be in no particular order with exception to the first as I figure it best to get it out of the way.
1. I don't want to have a pity party for myself, but I do want all of you to know the driving force behind my want/need to be a part of this program. I have had a lot of health issues. I have always joked that I don't have an immune system....turns out, I don't have the greatest one! At 16 I was diagnosed w/ endometriosis (sorry guys - promise it's important to share the girly stuff) and have struggled with that for the past 12 years, I've suffered from SI joint dysfunction, and I have had chronic migraines. For a long time I felt out of control of that part of my life and took comfort in "good food" as many people do. I knew that it wasn't healthy, but I wasn't healthy anyhow and figured it didn't really matter. Over the past 10 years I have had a total of 6 surgeries and countless shots, medications, physical therapies, and whatever other options a doctor threw at me to try to deal w/ whatever symptoms I was dealing w/ at the time. As you can imagine, living that way gets old after a while and I began to grow tired of being sick. I changed doctors until I found ones that would take a little more time and invest a little more of themselves into finding a way to get at the root of the issue. Turns out...........all of my other health issues stem from the endometriosis! Who would have thought that the thing I have dealt with the longest would create so many separate problems and that none of my many doctors would be able to piece it together? Anyhow, being that I am young and have no children I had a huge decision to make and several hoops to jump thought, but at the end of the day it was time to take control of my health and have a hysterectomy. My surgery was at the end of September and I can honestly say that I have felt so much better pretty much since day one! I had been dieting and exercising before surgery and I had done pretty well on my own, but this was the perfect opportunity for me to dig in and take control of my life again before those old habits really had a chance to take hold again.
2. "Goal Jeans" - I have had this silly pair of jeans hanging up on a hook on the inside of my closet door for YEARS! Like I said before, I have known for a long time that my actions weren't the healthiest and I knew that i wanted to change that but lacked the motivation to do what needed to be done. The jeans are on the list, but in all reality they are but one component...jeans alone are not enough!
3. Lori - I have a lot of people in my life that are supportive and I will get to them, but Lori has made such a wonderful impression on me in the past several months. From the first class I attended, she has been so very open and caring. She has been encouraging, she's been there when I needed to talk, and has had such open discussions with me about where I am vs. where I want to be. The support that she's provided gave me the push that I needed to "take the plunge" so to speak. I am sure many of you are reading this now and thinking the very same thing. She's a genuine person and is most certainly an inspiration!
4. A year ago when I began this journey to take charge of my life, I wasn't really sure where to start. Someone on my team at work had made the decision to start running. He would come to work talking about the Couch 2 5K program that he was doing and how it was perfect for someone that really wasn't active to learn to run over the course of a few months. I gave it a shot! I ran my first 5k April 16, 2011 and I was hooked. The only problem is that being this heavy, running/jogging isn't easy.....not by a long shot! In spite of that, I want to run a mini marathon. I have signed up for the mini in May in Indy as I know several other people in the group have done & my major motivation is that I know that this will be so much easier with less weight to lug around with me for that 2-3 hours!
5. Family, friends, and my team - I have the most supportive mother I could ever ask for, my guy Ryan is there for me every step of the way, and my friend Hollie is the best little cheerleader I can imagine. I have a boss that wants to keep the team in the loop and even wants to do before/after photos. I know I have a great support system, but I never imagined that they weren't enough until I met my team. I realized almost immediately that having each of you around me makes me want to work harder and have more fun while doing so. We do so much better together than as individuals. I know we are all still getting to know each other on a personal level, but I already feel love for every single one of you. I think it probably goes without saying, but this includes Jacqueline. She pushes us all right to the egde, but knows where to back off so we don't go over.....I trust that she knows better than I do what I am capable of accomplishing and so long as I can breathe I will do what she says :)
Let me leave you with this....my favorite verse:
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".
Jeremiah 29:11
It's something that I have referred to whenever I feel like I am climbing a hurdle. God does have a plan and I feel so blessed that this is a part of that plan unfolding before me! He brought us together for a reason Red Dawn, we can encourage each other to live the lives that we deserve!
Peace and Love,
Jenny
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