Tag: walking

Minding My Own Business

Published on by cmglife

I was out walking my dog. I have a miniature poodle that lifts his leg on everything during the walk. He’s empty before we make it past our bushes, but yet he continues to try to mark anything and everything if I slow down even in the slightest.

This particular day he lifted his leg on the wrong bush. A disturbingly angry man started yelling at me. It was too loud, too angry and it sent a cold trickle of fear through my center. I turned around to look and an old man was standing inside his house yelling though the living room window. He kept yelling things like; “What kind of person am I that I would let my dog pee on his bush?” and “I’m going to call the police”, etc. I tried to explain he wasn’t peeing, but the man was making so much noise he couldn’t hear me. Finally I turned around and began walking again, using the universal arm wave that says “Whatever”.

It looked like the whole situation was over. And it was to him and anyone else who was listening, but to me it wasn’t. My head was spinning. I cried all the way home. I felt like I had been transported back to my childhood.

I haven’t been able to get myself to go out for a walk since. I try all the self-talk, all the logic, etc. I’ve listened to all the advice.  And I still can’t do it. I will. I know I will, it just might take a little longer this time.  At my age now I’ve realized that sometimes it’s okay to be kind and gentle with myself.

Fashion Backward

Published on by cmglife

I have gone astray of fashion since gaining weight. It’s a real shame. It happens to a lot of women, but I didn’t think it would happen to me.

I am hopeless when going shopping for myself. I like the look on the mannequin, but in the dressing room it never works. I usually go back to the old faithful t-shirts and jeans.

I love shopping with my oldest daughter because she will tell it like it is. “Oh, no, Mom” and “No, no, no, Mom” she’ll say when I’m trying on clothes. On the other hand, I ended up with a maxi skirt because of her.

On a recent visit we went to the mall. I tried on a pair of new running shoes to start walking when I got back home. They were very “current”.  I tried on a pair of light grey.

Looking at myself in the mirror I said, “I like them”.

“No, they are too close to your skin tone,” Emily said. She later apologized in between fits of laughter of likening me to a zombie.

I bought a different color running shoe, head bands and a scarf. I was ready to set some trends of my own or at least follow them.

On the morning of going to the airport Emily put my hair in a messy bun. I put on the head band and the scarf over a t-shirt. I looked nice. Allison wanted to know why I was so dressed up.

Unfortunately, I realized another great use for the scarf; crumb catcher. God knows how many people I had encountered with the popcorn I had eaten three hours earlier caught in my fashion forward scarf.

You can’t take me anywhere.