Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Watermelon, Questions, and Accountability

There have been many times in my life when a questioning thought has passed through my head but never vocalized. It wasn't important. It wasn't my business. I forgot. It wasn't appropriate. Whatever the reason, the question wasn't asked. I remember some counsel shared by a youth leader many years ago, warning us against asking a particular question of any woman unless you knew for certain that the response would not bring with it embarrassment for both parties involved in the conversation. I'm sure most of the women reading this blog (and I'd hope the men, too) know which particular question I'm referring to..."When is your baby due?"
When my mom was pregnant with my older brother, she had her picture taken with her dad, my Papa, holding a watermelon in front of his belly. Cute and pregnant, the picture is a classic. I love it. I tried to duplicate the picture with myself and Brian at the end of my pregnancy. Huge and swollen as I was, the picture is not worth wasting your eye sight on. So I'll spare you.
The whole pregnancy/postpartum experience has been a first for me, and naively, I assumed that within a few months of giving birth I would be looking, well, at least more normal. And nursing your child is supposed to melt the pounds away, right? Lucky for you if that's the case. I haven't been one of the blessed few, my waistline shrinking by microscopic fractions of an inch every now and again. So, I suppose it was bound to happen at one time or another. The innocent question that, in my case, incites feelings of sadness and a renewed resolve to do better. The girl at the checkout counter, merely trying to make light conversation, asks me, "When is your baby due?" Sigh. "He's six months old." Embarrassed pause. "Oh...well, congratulations!?" On to the real point of this post.
I could wish to be the moms I see who don't even look like they had a baby. I could wish that nursing would suck every nasty fat cell off my body. I would even settle for wishing that I didn't look like I'm still six months pregnant. But wishing isn't any more than that: wishful thinking. And since I have to work for the changes that I want to see, and I don't hold myself accountable to myself as often as I should, I hereby make my journey public. I won't bore you with the day to day, but I will keep a log of my progress. And when I run that race this spring, I'll let you know how I felt as I crossed the finish line. So, here's to the absence of my watermelon and not giving anyone a reason to ask the unthinkable question.

7 comments:

Snow Mommy said...

I admire your courage and boldness! I have never lost the last of the baby pounds (10 from the first and 10 more from the second). Good luck!

Holly said...

OH Lisa, you are awesome to be so honest! I love that about you. This whole year (and hopefully years to come) I'm working on just being more honest, mostly with myself. Good for you and you know, no matter what, I love you! :)

p.s. can you believe they are already 6 months!!! Holy crap! Where has the time gone???

Kate said...

Hey Lisa. What a rotten thing... that happened to me at work one day. The girl assumed that I must be pregnant becuase my scrubs tied in the back like some maternity tops do... Nope... wasn't even married yet. Little did she know that lots of scrubs do that now to be a little more shapely. Anyways, I don't wear that pair of scrubs anymore. Way to be for making a goal and being extra brave and posting about your goal! We miss and love you!

Wendy said...

You can do it! You are determined and focused. Just remember it takes time and is a journey.

InkMom said...

Good luck, my friend. I'll be running along right there with you.

As for the sidebar, it's just plain old-fashioned math. I do the 'rithmetic myself in a blank field I added to my blog. (It used to have a list of books in it . . . now I'm planning on doing book reviews on a separate blog so I took it off and replaced it with the race time stuff.)

If you find one that will keep your tally automatically, let me know -- I searched blogger for something like that yesterday after I read your comment, but to no avail.

Love you!

kado! said...

It's hard with kids to lose weight...and it doesn't get any easier as they get older....the older they get the more yummy snacks there are around the house! Weight lose is 99% mental you have to really believe you can do it and mentally keep yourself focused away from unhealthy snacks! Once you do that and involve exercise too...it becomes part of your daily routine. Then you will see a life style change along with smaller clothes sizes! Good luck to you...it is something I think we all work on every day! You should keep us posted and a public log...makes it harder to slip and fall when you know people are watching....and it inspires others too!

Glenn and Natalie said...

So sorry...I think that it has happened to me more times than I can count on all my fingers and toes! I have abandoned many a shirt, jumper, or dress because of multiple questions. The worst offenders?--people in this branch! I know that you are going to be able to do this--you are a strong woman!
By the way...as a side note...this post of yours has really gotten me in the mood for watermelon....WHERE ARE YOU WARM WEATHER & GREAT TASTING PRODUCE?!