Don't go chasing waterfalls...

"Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to..."

Or, on second thought, chase away!

When I was heavy, I was used to my seat belt digging into my hips when I drove. I was used to my having to sit in a table and not a booth as it was too hard to get into a booth. I adapted to being winded and avoiding my reflection in mirrors and store windows. I got used to shopping just for accessories as shopping for clothes was no fun. It was what it was and I did not think much about it.

As of this morning, I am 70 pounds lighter than I have been in YEARS. I can drive comfortably. I can sit wherever I choose. I can run and climb and shop for whatever I want. I can even chase waterfalls, if I want to.

Gary and I celebrated our five year wedding anniversary this past weekend. We went into Center City, Philadelphia and walked for miles and miles. We had dinner out and laughed and reminisced and enjoyed being together. We took a Segway tour which was so much fun, I wonder why it took me 41 years to take one. We shopped, we ate, we smiled, we relaxed. We even slept in!

The Segway machines have a weight limit. That is not what prevented me from riding one in the past, but it would have had I known. You need to be able to use your body to steer the machine and I definitely know that I could not have done it when I was overweight. I zipped around Old City like I was on fire and enjoyed the entire 2 hours of the tour. It was just terrific. It was liberating and exhilarating and Gary said that every time I passed him by, I had a giant smile on my face.

This morning, we meet some of our family at Ringing Rocks State Park. We climbed rocks and steep terrain and hiked all over.  We all took turns making sure Miranda didn't stumble (too much!). At the end, we were rewarded with a waterfall. A waterfall that I would have never seen in the past as there is no way I could have kept up. I would have had to stay behind.

The world is open to me again in the way that it used to be. I have a freedom that I had lost for quite some time. It's new to me and I am still testing it out, but so far, I love it. I feel like the girl I was when I first learned to drive. Or when I went away to college. So much is new to me. I am new to me. 

I was holding myself back from doing so much before. And I did not even know it! Well that is over now. I have many more waterfalls in my future.