When Life is Great...

Fridays are happy days. The Cardinals won the NLDS and I was there in person to see it with my best kid. I was talking to a friend at work today and said, "I was close enough to see Jadi's..." He finished my sentence...."Tattoos?" I said, "Well, I wasn't going to say tattoos." He said, "Well, we'll go with that." It was such a fun night. The best thing about the night was I won green seat tickets from my work.

Yes, that is David Freese. I was close enough to see his tattoos too. :)

Now if you don't know what green seat tickets are, they come with access to the Cardinals Club, which includes an all you can eat buffet. I made the decision to eat what I wanted because I was celebrating. They had the best green beans I have ever tasted and a corn chowder that is still making my mouth water. I kept walking around telling the staff "thank you" and "this food is amazing" and they were all laughing at me. I guess that's not customary behavior for people who can afford those kinds of tickets.

The problem is, I was set loose at an all you can eat buffet. This is paradise for a food addict like me. I will spare you the play-by-play. Needless to say, it is a night that will go down healthy-living infamy.

I had the great pleasure to sit by a girlfriend from work and her husband. She happened to tell him about my weight loss and he looked at me and said, "No way. How'd you do it?" I like how she mentioned this as I was stuffing my face with chocolate ice cream. "Well, I didn't eat sugar....and..." I just felt stupid. I felt like a Christian caught cursing.

And just like that I'm derailed. There are always a million excuses for me to celebrate with food and only a handful of reasons not to. And fitting into my favorite skirt isn't very compelling when faced with handmade cannoli's. Even worse, I don't feel very guilty. If ever there was an occasion to celebrate with food, that was it.

What I will say is that I had more fun dancing and cheering and acting like a crazy person than I have in a long time. My son was embarrassed which means I did it right. My friend from work said the people in the Jones box thought her seatmate should settle down. It was simply, a wonderful time.

Because I am generally healthy I was able to do all of this without breaking a sweat. And I felt that while I was there. I never got out of breath from dancing too hard nor did I have to sit down because I was too tired. Granted there was a lot of adrenaline flowing, but it was fantastic nonetheless. And this is why I will never stop trying to stay healthy. I love how good it feels to dance and play and not be burdened with my weight. I have worked so long and so hard, and it was worth every tear, every missed snack and every painful workout to get to this place.

Tomorrow I am really looking forward to my walk. I may even jog a little. I get to tour Ferguson and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Tonight, I celebrate life. I am so happy to be alive and blessed beyond measure.