In the Know

I am reading a book titled "Mother's Milk" by Edward St. Aubyn. It is an interesting book and certainly more cerebral than the light summer reading I have been devouring for the past year. As I have been reading it, I have been marking pages with quotes that make me think. All of these quotes deserve a blog post so that I can really work though them, but who has the time. I went through the first half of the book I have read so far and I picked the quote that fits my life at this moment.

"I remember complaining to my doctor about the side effects of the Ribavirin he prescribed me. "Oh, yes, that's known," he said with a kind of tremendous infectious calm. Mind you, when I told him about a side effect that wasn't known, he dismissed it by saying, 'I've never heard of that before.'" (p.103)

Perhaps the quote is not as interesting when taken out of context, but nonetheless it speaks to me. It speaks to me about the known versus the unknown and how sometimes our brains help us to "unknow" the things we know to be true.

I had an attack of pelvic pain the other night. When Matt asked me how long it had been happening, I couldn't tell him because I didn't know exactly. I remember thinking the last time that it happened "I should probably call my doctor because this feels like the pain from my ovarian cyst." Did I call my doctor? No. I moved on and convinced myself that it was a one time thing and it would take care of itself. That was over 3 months ago and the pain keeps returning. I knew something was wrong, but my brain dismissed it and turned it into the unknown.

I called the doctor today and made an appointment to make the unknown known.

Water Country

Matt and I just got back from Water Country in NH. Matt had never been to a water park before so my parents decided it was time to break him in. The weather was overcast and calling for rain when we arrived but it cleared up over time. Matt and I made a point to liberally apply the sunscreen (SPF 60+) because we are so pale.

The day was really fun. We went on 5 water slides and spent a lot of time floating around in their lazy river. Despite my sunscreen application I burned my shoulders, back, and chest. Silly Matt burned the back of his hand (?) and the little spots on his head where his hair line is receding (don't tell him that I told you).

It amazes me how a day outside playing in the water can tire you out. Our plans for the night is to wear sweatpants and veg out with the cat.

Wedding Bells are Ringing

Matt and I attended a very special wedding yesterday. It was for my previous supervisor, Nancy.

Nancy and I had worked together for a little over two years and had become good friends. She used to have dinner parties at her house for the staff of the YMCA outreach- not because we needed to have a meeting, but because we enjoyed each others company and wanted to hang out. Even though I got done at the Y, Nancy and I have remained in touch. She attended our wedding last July, and we email somewhat regularly. I had not however, seen her since she met the man she fell in love with.

The wedding was beautiful, held at the Lucerne Inn, outdoors with the mountains and lake as a backdrop. The weather was overcast but there was a cold breeze and the rain held off. The gusts chairs were all full and the reception area was set up perfectly by the Inn's catering crew. Everything was perfect.

Nancy and Bill were walked down the aisle respectively by their own two children to form a large family of six at the alter. The vows were written by the bride and groom and included things like
"I promise to drop everything I am doing and dance with you." and
"I promise to kiss you goodnight every night."
Nancy's daughter sang 2 beautiful songs, including "Feels Like Home".

The wedding itself was as I said, perfect, but the best part was how in love Nancy and Bill are. They were beautiful together. I have never seen two people more in love than they are, which brings me to the point of this post.

During the reception Nancy brought Bill over to introduce him to Matt and I. She told him that I worked for her at the YMCA and that Matt and I were married last summer. Then she said something I will never forget. She said "They are like us, they are in love." It was wonderful to be compared to two people who are so fantastically in love with each other.

On the drive home from Lucerne, I realized that sometimes I get caught up in the everyday junk and forget to look at the big picture. Matt and I are in love. We are that annoying couple in public that can't keep their hands to themselves. We are the happy married couple.

When we got home we watched the entire tape of our wedding (Thank you, Chris!), laughed and cried and remembered what really matters. From my vows "I promise to love you forever."

Happy Anniversary Matt, I love you.

"The Ultimate Weight Solution"

"Once you start appreciating your body, you will begin to take much better care of yourself and you will find that weight loss is so much easier because you are treating yourself with respect." p. 25

I am re-reading Dr. Phil's book, "The Ultimate Weight Solution" in yet another attempt to get my weight to a point where I feel comfortable. This book is very interesting to me because it is not a "diet" book. This book is written in a way to make people deal with the underlying reasons they are over weight.

"You have chosen to live in a way in which no other result could occur."

This book is not a fad diet, it is not a quick fix, it is a tool to help change habits, and in time, change your life. I am very eager to start working on the things I need to change in my life. To start, Matt and I walked 4 miles this evening. Granted, we walked to Starbucks to get a coffee, but the walking has to count for something, right?