Day 175 Turns Out, I Like Booths and One Life, Two Parts

Day 175

Turns Out, I Like Booths and One Life, Two Parts

I'll never forget 176 days ago. On that cool September morning I was with my daughter in Weatherford looking for a place to have breakfast. We weren't looking for a place with the best food or atmosphere, no, on that day, with me weighing 505 pounds, our main concern was finding a place with “fat friendly” seating. Booths were definitely out of the question and chairs with narrow arms, forget it. I spotted Jerry's, a historic diner with a history dating back to 1966, but Amber quickly informed me “Uh, Dad, they only have booths and fixed seats at the counter.” OK then, Jerry's was out. What about... “uh, no...chairs with arms.” OK, then what about that... “booths again daddy.” How do fat people eat out in Weatherford? We settled on a place that day that was unknown to the both of us. Our plan was simple: Go in, scan the dining room for fat friendly seating, if it was good we'd enjoy a meal, if not, we would turn around and walk out. I really thought we would end up in a drive through lane and eating in the vehicle, but The Mark had chairs without arms, and a breakfast buffet! We had hit the jackpot! Fat friendly seating and a buffet? I remember thinking, “so this is where all the fat people in Weatherford eat.”
Now, fast forward 176 days later, it's day 175 and once again I'm in Weatherford with Amber, and we're looking for a place to eat breakfast at three in the afternoon! We decided on Jerry's without any hesitation whatsoever. We walked in, went straight to a booth and sat down. I had a good three inches or more between me and the table. I not only fit, I had room to spare! It's amazing the difference losing nearly 130 pounds so far has made. We enjoyed breakfast without any seating discomfort, and that's an awesome thing. If you've never had any trouble fitting in seats, it might be hard to relate to the joy I felt today. It was incredibly enjoyable.

After our mid-afternoon breakfast, we decided our fun wasn't about to end just yet. Amber had a couple of free bowling passes they gave her at SWOSU, and by golly we were going to use 'em. We hardly ever went bowling when Amber was little because daddy didn't want to mess with taking off, then putting on, then taking off, then putting on the shoes! At over 500 pounds, just taking off and putting on shoes becomes a workout pure and simple. If an activity requires shoe removal, we just didn't do it. But not today, we were going bowling by golly. I'm a really bad bowler. The kids a couple of lanes down from us couldn't have been more than 6 years old and they were beating me! Of course I wasn't kiddy bowling with bumpers, but maybe I should have been. Amber beat me without trouble 64 to 56. It wasn't pretty, but it sure was fun, and I guess it counted for some exercise, right? The shoes were not even the slightest trouble at all. I didn't even have to ask Amber to tie them. I easily tied them like anyone else. Isn't it amazing how something so little is such a big deal? I love results! And the results we benefited from today made it a wonderful Sunday indeed.

I arrived back in Stillwater by 7:45pm, to meet up with Irene and Courtney at grandmas house for a brief visit with Kelli, my mom, Keith, and grandma. Kelli had found some more old pictures. I've posted one below with my late grandfather. Grandpa never really had a weight problem, he worked too hard his entire life to have one. As a kid he would work in the fields for a dollar a day. He was paid once a week and gave most of that money to his parents so they could help make ends meet, keeping back just enough for a candy bar, a soda pop, and a trip to the local picture show. His work ethic was rock solid his entire life, as was his integrity. I've never known a more honest man than my grandpa. He found joy in the most simple of activities, like eating an apple and watching baseball. He loved baseball. I always wondered if that was his dream as a child, to be a ball player. He could have done it and well I'm sure, but he had to work, and when World War 2 started, he had to defend his country in the Pacific Ocean aboard a battleship. We lost grandpa a while back. He was always very concerned about my weight, and I know that if he were here today, he'd be proud of the progress I've made and where I'm headed. I still can't get over the amazing difference in my appearance so far. My face was so huge back then!

I realized today that my life will forever be divided into two sections. My life before September 15th, 2008 and my life after. Many people have their memories divided like this. Normally it's a result of a tragic accident or major illness. Somehow I knew that after September 15th, my life would never be the same. This transformation period has been an incredible journey and I know it just gets better from here. When the transformation is complete, I hope to spend the rest of my days motivating and inspiring people to change their lives too. One life, two parts, completely opposite each other. It's hard to imagine feeling any better about this. Good night and...

Good Choices,
Sean


Grandpa and Me