525,600 minutes... the philosophical post

click on this link to listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj7LRuusFqo


This is one of my favorite songs from any musical.  Take a moment to watch and listen, so you too can sing it for the rest of the day!  I have been thinking a lot lately...I know that can be dangerous.  But, I have.  Today I sat down to write a post about how much I have learned in the time that I've been banded.  In the 823 days, 117 weeks or the 1,094,297 minutes that I've had a relationship with this little piece of plastic.  I have learned so much.

So, how do you measure a year....how do you measure time? In sunsets, in cups of coffee, in love or as so many of us do...in pounds!  There is so much more that my band has done for me besides help me lose weight.  It's given me peace, and it's given me a measure of control and it's given me hope.  My relationship with my band has been very much like a marriage.

In my first year with the band, it was like the honeymoon stage, I was so in love with it, I was careful what I did, I never wanted to hurt it's feelings or show my bad side. I wanted only to keep it happy.  It served me well, we were new to each other...we were in love.

In my second year with the band, it was like the second year of marriage. I'd grown accustomed to the band, I was taking it for granted. I couldn't quite remember the way I felt when I first got it, I mean I still loved it, but the love wasn't as new and exciting.  I tested it, I wanted to see just how much it would put up with.  Would it endure my hormonal rants? It was no longer new.  The things I once found endearing, were cumbersome at times.  I didn't want to chew or stay away from bread...I pushed it...and I paid the price.  I wasn't the only one who paid the price, there were two sides to the story, my band suffered as well.

So began my third year, the newlywed stuff was over. Our relationship had evolved. I had a new appreciation for my band, I wanted to show it that I had changed.  But I was nervous too....I hoped I hadn't gone too far.  I hoped I hadn't pissed it off one too many times.  What if it was tired of me now? I started hearing stories about other relationships like ours, about how some bands decided to start pushing back.  Some bands got abusive and the end result was divorce. Some of these relationships were just plain over, no matter how hard they tried.  But then again, some bands were in it for the long haul, some of the relationships had become symbiotic, some were effortless.

So here I am, 117 days into my third year.  I'm regretting the way I mistreated my band and I'm hopeful that my band will continue to put up with me.  I started being kinder. I've learned some valuable lessons in this time, I'm still learning.  I learned that I did not want to know what it was like to be without this tool that I love.  I learned that getting back to the basics was what I needed to do to salvage this relationship.  And you know what?...I learned that I can still lose weight. When I'm honest with myself and I track my food honestly...the scale will reward me.  So, I reaffirmed my vows to my Band, I took a long weekend and spent some time remembering why I got in this relationship (like looking at your wedding pictures after a spat.)  I'm ready for the rest of this journey.  I don't take my relationships lightly, this is no exception.  I know there will be good times and bad.  But I've got a new feeling of commitment.  I'm going to reach my goal and I'm going to do it in my third year of band marriage.

Happy Monday!
Big Hugs!
T