Fall is here. Time to wear jeans!

My oldest son is playing flag football this year. It's been such an exciting time for him.  His first game was last week Wednesday. I was getting dressed that morning I realized that I should dress for a football game.  I had listened to the weather. It was supposed to be rainy and chilly. I told the kids to dress warm.

We've been blessed with a wonderfully warm summer here in Wisconsin so I haven't worn pants in a couple of months at least.  I was faced with the decision of what to wear.  My casual, mom-of-outdoor-sports-playing-kids, wardrobe consists of yoga pants and stretchy workout pants.  I have been wearing these pants for most of the casual days that required pants over the last year.  I was automatically going to wear my favorite pair of yoga pants with a sweatshirt when I realized that it was a really nice day for jeans.

I don't know about you, but just the word jeans makes me break out in a cold sweat.  I am afraid of having to put on jeans.  As an overweight woman in my 20's and 30's I dreaded the tight, uncomfortable feeling of jeans.  I still have those thoughts in my head.  I am afraid of trying to put them on and being disappointed by the results.  I have had that feeling so many times in my adult life that I don't feel like facing the disappointment.  Therefore I just break out the workout pants that I know will fit even if I ate a few too many cookies the day before.

Last Wednesday I stared at my closet. There were two pairs of jeans hanging there.  Would I risk the uncomfortably tight feeling of jeans or would I put on my yoga pants and move on with my life.  I studied the jeans well.  I looked at them both and tried to remember which one would give me a little more room to work with. Which one would keep in the results of giving birth to 5 children?  Which one would I be able to button while still breathing?  Which one has the best chance of putting a smile on my face?  I picked a pair and removed them from my closet.  I decided which shirt I would wear under my sweatshirt.  One that would tuck into my jeans so that there was no chance of skin showing over the top of my jeans was very important.

I took a deep breath and put on my jeans.  They got over my hips and now it was time for the triumph.  Could I button them without lying on my bed?  I could! I put on my jeans and could still breathe.  In fact, I could even sit.  They didn't need to be "standing jeans."  I was thrilled. I wondered how far into the day I would be able to wear them comfortably.  That, of course, is the next test.  Will they make it through the day or will I have to change them after I eat a meal or two?  I wore them all day.  I wore them through every meal and they kept me warm at the football game.  I chased Sammy around the sidelines, was able to bend down to pick him up over and over again and still felt comfortable in my jeans.

This is just one of those fabulous moments in my weight loss journey.  This is one of those moments that isn't measured by the scale but moments of triumph.  I've come a long way.  Someday maybe I'll even lose the memory of having to be afraid of my jeans.

It's a nice fall day today.  Do you have a pair of jeans to wear?  Do you have a goal to get into a pair?  Hang them where you can be reminded of your goal.  Try them on once in a while to see how far you have to go to get into them.  This was one of the ways I lost my weight.

Have a great day,
Corinna

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; ..." -Ecclesiastes 3:1-22