Making Lists

I’m a list maker. I admit it. I don’t think there is a 12 Step Program for list makers, but it might not be a bad idea. Getting ready for our trip, I make all sorts of lists: the list for all of the tasks I have to get done at home; the list for everything I need to finish before I leave work on Friday afternoon; the list of things to pack; the list of things to tell our cat sitter (and bird sitter). I enjoy crossing things off my list, and feeling like I’ve accomplished SOMETHING.

But as much as I enjoy making lists, I don’t think I have approached weight loss with the same enthusiasm. Maybe it was because the task before me seemed so daunting: Lose 275 pounds; change my complete attitude toward food; start an exercise program. How does one DO THAT? And since I guess that the real joy is not in MAKING the lists – it’s in crossing things OFF the list, it didn’t make sense to start a list of this magnitude.

But here I am, having lost 61.73% of those 275 pounds. I AM changing my attitude completely toward food. I AM exercising. And my list of accomplished goals is growing. Some have been small, seemingly insignificant things, like seeing my collar bone, or being able to cross my legs. Some have been much more significant, like losing 100 pounds since surgery, or being able to fly without a seatbelt extender (speaking of which, my test for this one will come on Monday – listen for a shout of joy – hopefully – Monday morning sometime after 8:00. If I fasten that seatbelt, I’m pretty sure that everyone in the Atlanta metro area anyway will be able to hear the shout!) Maybe making those lists isn’t such a bad idea, after all!