Birthday Girls

PHOTO: My first photo with LuLu. April 2011.

THE LULU CHRONICLES

"Happy Birthday to us... Happy Birthday to us... Happy Birthday Deb and LuLu... Happy Birthday to us!"

Last year for my 60^th Birthday the Hubs presented me with LuLu, my pink bike. Together, bike and rider hit the back roads of Black Wolf, Wisconsin and began the journey of improved health and other stuff. It’s been a year now. Tomorrow, I turn sixty-one and LuLu turns one. So what have we learned? Were some goals met? Did we succeed or fail?

Let me give you the poop with a warning: you might need a calculator: Okay, from April to September 2011, I lost eleven pounds. My first ride on LuLu, I went three miles. By the end of the summer I was pedaling fifteen miles at a whack. My eating was getting better. Choices becoming healthier. Then came September and another couple of bouts of cancer for the Hubs. Not an excuse, mind you, but the eating smart and exercising became less frequent; plus cooler weather moved in. Winter hit. Holidays came and went. Weight returned, at least eight pounds of it. Okay, so now I’m only down three pounds from where I started. Then in February, I get serious about the health kick again, especially when crazy warm weather hits the upper mid-west in what is usually our coldest and snow-iest of the season. Thus, LuLu and I ventured out of the garage on several occasions. Also in February, some friends decided to join me on this venture, so we started reporting in and keeping each other accountable and encouraged. I also started taking measurements so I can track the inches melting off of me (ever the optimist). Okay, from February till now, I’ve lost 16 pounds, but should I add back the first eleven, and then subtract three? Or just subtract 8. Have I lost 27 pounds or 19 pounds or l6 pounds? The answer: Yes, I have.

As for the inches gone: Well, total I’ve lost 15 inches world wide, so to speak. But one week I gained an inch back in a couple of the neighborhoods. So, have I lost 17 inches or 15 inches, because I did lose that inch again? The final answer: Yes.

Okay, are you keeping up? As you can see, I’m going to be slippery to nail down, but here’s the bottom line: It has been a great year. I’m healthier. I’m thinner in parts. I’ve got more energy. The Fake Knee is still working. The Cowgirl is still complaining. The Old Girl, at 61, is still determined to make the best out of what she’s got left. I want to honestly be able to continue to sing the words to Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with my grandchildren with as much wonder as they do. I want to going on adventures, even if that sometimes simply means riding LuLu to the Post Office. I want to learn something new everyday. And, I want not a day to go by that I am not grateful… for everything.

Tomorrow, I turn 61. Come rain or shine, LuLu and I will be on the road.

Later,

deb