Necessary Mutilation

Weight: 199.4 lbs.

Yesterday turned out to be a different kind of day than I had expected, as I was full of energy despite the long work day, and decided with Tom to run off to both the Canadian and American casinos after work. We ran to Fallsview for their “free” buffet (with coupon), and then back across the border, to redeem another coupon for a free Easter ham. We had gotten these certificates in the mail some time ago and figured we’d let them ride, but since it was such a nice evening and we both had energy to spare, we made a spontaneous decision to use them after all. We didn’t spend a dime in either casino, which was good since I would have been upset if our “free” ham ended up costing us a hundred dollars! This has been known to happen before!

Anyway, our plans are to slice a small slab off the huge ham and keep it, and give the rest to our friends who invited us to Easter dinner, although we don’t plan to join them this year. They are having a few others over, and welcome a free ham to accompany the chicken they already purchased.

As to the buffet, well, I hadn’t factored in eating like this, although I didn’t go terribly overboard. I did eat several shrimp (cocktail), a few bites of turkey, some broiled chicken, a little cauliflower, and some baked whitefish. All good choices, right? I only blew it by adding a wee bit of creme brulee to my melon slices for dessert. Believe me, given their offerings, I could have done much worse.

And at work yesterday, many people seemed focused on my weight and looks, for some reason. If I weren’t already self conscious, I certainly would be after my experiences yesterday. It started with an a.m. morning client who is brought in by a staff I like very much and who I have worked with on and off for years. She and the client both commented aloud on how they felt that I had lost considerable weight, even since last session, just two weeks ago. Shelly said: “You must have dropped like another 10 lbs. or so!”. Boy, if this didn’t plump up my ego!

Then, later in the day, my co-worker and friend Zoe came in for her evening shift, and immediately called me “the incredible shrinking woman”, and said that “you’ve done it…you must be very near your goal!” When I was astounded and said that I had like 70 more lbs. to go, she expressed surprise and said that I looked great and thin to her, and she thought that I should be “done” with losing. Wow!! So now I’m thinking…”note to self…wear whatever I am wearing today, everyday!”

I rode this high for a few minutes, and then ushered in my next client. A young African American woman with moderate mental retardation, and her staff. A darling woman who is sweet and loving, and who never fails to give me a hug both on her way in and out of her counseling session. And who shortly after sitting down, loudly said: “Ooooo…you gettin fat, Ms. Donna! ” Look how bigs you is!!” Her staff was immediately horrified and told her that she was being rude, and she instantly got quiet and apologized, while I was chuckling in the background. I reassured her that it was ok and I wasn’t mad, but that I wondered what she saw that made her feel like I had gotten fatter. Her answer: “You’se just big, too big…that’s all. I don’t mean to be rude, but oooo, you needs to go on a diet!”

Out of the mouth of babes, indeed!!