The year was 2006. I went to my first AP Reading at the University of Nebraska as a rookie reader. This was also the last year we read in Lincoln. I wanted a shirt as a souvenir and memento of my experience there so I bought this at the bookstore on campus. It was the biggest shirt they had–a 3X. It was tight and uncomfortable, and after I bought it I didn’t wear it for a long, long time.
Until recently.
Now it fits like a dress and I use it as a workout shirt because it’s too big to wear otherwise. When I go back to the AP Reading this year, you bet your ass I’ll be taking this shirt with me to work out in.
I am now down to an 18 in pants and a 14-18 in tops, depending on who makes them and whether or not they are button down or knit. I won’t lie, I still see a 440 pound woman, still feel like one most days, and still negotiate space like one. When will I get past this? I know Dr. A said that the brain takes so long to catch up to the body, but it’s nearly been a year and I’m still lagging behind mentally on my self-image.
I mixed up my cardio tonight: 15 minutes riding intervals on the recumbent bike, followed by 15 minutes on the elliptical, then 10 minutes on the dreadmill to cool down. I had never tried the elliptical before and thought I’d give it a try to give myself a change of pace. I dig it. I’ll be using it again, perhaps tomorrow evening. I need to drag my ass to the gym more and thankfully that things are starting to slow down at school, perhaps I can do that.
More later…prepping for teaching a workshop tomorrow and I need to finalize some last minute things.
Lincoln is my home town!
Congrats on being able to pull out an old shirt like that and have it not only fit but be so big! What an awesome feeling.
I actually have a Sort of Dallas Cowboys jersey with my name on it from a sales conference I went to back in 1996. I’m only hanging on to it so I can wear it someday. Getting close!
It truly is a fantastic feeling!
You will get to wear that jersey soon. 🙂
I have an autographed Mike Modano Dallas Stars jersey that I could not wear for ages, and now it hangs like a dress. I’ll be busting it out for school later this week since we have sports team day as a part of Teacher Appreciation Week.