Loving the Loose Pants

Body image. Like most women, I have no problem finding flaws with my body. It's especially easy when spring arrives and women flaunting washboard stomachs are out and about in their spaghetti-strap tank tops and bum-hugging short shorts.

My loose fitting t-shirts and baggy-butt jeans attempt to hide the bulges in my mid-section and camoflage my soft softs. Strangely, I've never needed to cover my arms or legs. Somehow, as I've gained body mass everywhere else, they've remained the same. Some might even call my legs "chicken legs"...which seems fair, really. I'd say they resemble vertical toothpicks holding up a full-sized Thanksgiving turkey. My calves, like my father's and sister's calves, are in fact unproportionately muscular compared to the rest of my body. It's comical really. Like Popeye's bulging forearms after cracking open a can of spinach.

Lately though, in an effort to lose weight, I've begun to feel a little better about my body. My pants are fitting looser and I'm getting a nicer shape in my sides...not so box-y. So far, I've managed a 10 pound weight loss. I already feel healthier and maybe even less self-conscious as I face the world on the same streets as the flat-stomached women in their spaghetti-strap tank tops.

Now, what do I do about this flat butt!?

Reminiscing on 1982!

I see I've only posted three times this month! Have I been that busy? Have I honestly not had enough time to sit, think, and jot my mushy thoughts? Hmmm? Yep, I think that's been the problem...busy-ness. Okay, that's probably not a word, but you know what I'm saying. I just feel like everything is coming at me so quickly.

Even though I haven't written much lately, it's clear to see that what I HAVE done in my last few posts is use my blog as a sort of reminiscing ground. When life comes at me fast, I can't seem to see what's ahead of me... just what's behind. I think of good times and where I've come from. And here I go again. This time I'm thinking back to my days at the old Harrison Elementary School in Elkhart County, Indiana. It was such a good place to grow up. Oh, the country charm and family-friendly learning!

Here's to you Mrs. Newcomer's class, 1982!
Feel free to click the photo for a closer view if you dare!

Spring Break is Coming

Last weekend I went to my parents house and unearthed a box labeled "Val's Photo Albums." A box of memories from my high school and junior high school years stared me in the face. I loaded it into the trunk of my car and left it there until yesterday. I opened the albums on the porch in the sun as my husband cleaned and washed my car. There were photos of people and places long-forgotten and events I thought I'd never forget, but have. These three particular pictures were a few taken on a Spanish Club trip to Mexico. Spring Break: 1992.

Spring Break was such a big deal. Students went crazy for a week off and looked forward to getting away. But didn't teachers too? My husband and I both work for the public schools, you'd think we plan family vacations during our summers off and spring breaks. Some cultural or historic sites or a tropical getaway?

As spring break approaches, I find myself daydreaming of clear blue waters surrounding my island paradise, rich with the smells of coconut suntan lotion and pina coladas. Carefree days without wearing a watch, and digging my toes in the warm sand. But, the truth is... we'll probably stay close to home and paint the walls or have the carpet cleaned...maybe do some more furniture shopping or take a day trip to a local attraction. And maybe I'll still take off the watch and sip a pina colada or two, just without the scent of coconut and I won't have to deal with sand in my bathing suit.

First Memories

My 5-year old son continues to bring me back to my own childhood. I think he's alot like I was as 5-year old, but probably much smarter. I wonder what he'll remember from this time in his life. I think my own first memories come from the time I was 5.
























I don't remember much about Mrs. Baumgartner's half-day kindergarten class, but I remember the other half of my day pretty clearly. Because my parents worked, I went home with Betsy and her mom who lived in an old, but update farmhouse about a mile and a half away from my own house. Betsy was the same age as me, and was my afternoon playmate. Her mom was creative, strict, and an immaculate housekeeper. Their house had a food pantry, a dishwasher, an old barn with a rope swing, a playhouse in the backyard, and "quicksand" in the attic (I should really get clarification on this.)

This week, my brother e-mailed me this photo of Betsy and I standing in front of the doors to our beloved Harrison Elementary School. I have no idea what the flowers were for, but from this photo I sense the same carefree "no worries" feeling that my little boy probably feels right now. Although somewhat pitiful, we look downright innocent, fragile, and maybe even angelic.

Were we ever so carefree?

Where's my purple crayon?

Do you remember the old childrens' book "Harold and the Purple Crayon"? Maybe this will jog your memory (from the inside cover)... One evening Harold decided to go for a walk in the moonlight. But there wasn't any moon, and Harold needed a moon for a walk in the moonlight. Fortunately, he had brought his purple crayon. So he drew a moon. He also needed something to walk on. So he drew a path...

Everything Harold imagined, came to be with the stroke of a hand and his trusty purple crayon. For a day of excitement, fear, love, joy, or horror, he needed nothing else. He could determine what came next, who he would encounter, where he would go, and how he would get there. The author Crockett Johnson had a rich imagination?

Sometimes I wonder where my own purple crayon adventure would lead. If I allowed myself to think as freely as a child, where would life take me? Would I continue to sit under a pile of paper and meetings at work? Would I watch reality TV from the couch in the evenings? Would I drive the same route to work and back day after day?

I'm at a point where I need to find my purple crayon and see the possibilities.