36.8!!!

I haven't been real open about my weight loss efforts but decided to share anyway. I started Weight Watchers back in June and truly laid off the entire month of August BUT I have lost a total of 36.8 pounds! Woo Hoo....yay for me! Not sure why I decided to even start but the great thing is that I did start and I am actually sticking to it.

For those of you that do not suffer from being over weight or do not understand the frustration of trying to lose weight...count your blessings. I have fought the battle my entire life. One day I was watching my daughter eat MORE than I did and it was an eye opener. She was headed down the same exact path I had walked as a kid and it had to stop. Can't stop someone by words alone so maybe that is why I chose to get the weight off. Don't know. I have committed to getting healthier and to feel better about my appearance. Some days I think my appearance holds me back socially, professionally and even personally. Just time to do something about it.

Well, I said it and now anyone that reads my blog knows and it will probably jinx my efforts! As loud as I can be I truly like to be private about all aspects of my life (unless I choose to share) so this is a big step!

Detour

Today on the way home I had to take a detour off my usual route. As I turned and headed down streets I never even knew existed I saw things I did not want to see in my own town. Houses that looked like shacks, barefoot children in diapers filthy sitting on a broken down porch, cars sitting up on blocks, trash piled 4 or 5 feet tall in the front yard. Just not something I thought about existing in Childress. I know there is poverty here, that is obvious, but the type of poverty is rarely seen. If I had not been in my own car, on my way home, I don't think I would have realized I was in Childress. It was that disturbing.

I passed by an ex-student's house and he was sitting at a broken metal patio table propped up with a stick in an old metal chair seat on a tree stump. He was so engulfed in his school computer that he didn't even notice a car coming down the street. I had been to his house before but had never really noticed his neighborhood. Just made me kind of sick to my stomach. Even though, I was thankful he had the computer and free Internet access, it really means nothing to him. Did he have a clean bed to sleep in? Did he have a bed at all? What was he going to eat for supper? Would there be someone there to fix it? Really hit me hard.

So...as I traveled my detour, I got a whole new "look" at Childress. Not something I was proud to see.