four star day

I have been on a weight loss journey...seems like it has been since after my first child, but more recently, since October. It took me 2 1/2 months to lose 18 pounds. I was thrilled...proud...happy. And then it took me 3 1/2 months to lose the two pounds I needed to reach my first goal...20 pounds. But I did it. I earned my fourth gold star today...one for each five pound loss. I still have plenty more to go...but this goal has been lingering over my head for longer than I expected, and I'm glad to be moving on. I had just stopped working...it wasn't the program...not a plateau...just me. We've been watching the Biggest Loser...and I am so inspired by their stories...and still, I sit. On the last season of the Biggest Loser, they handed out shirts with each participant's personal goal printed on the front. One goal really struck a chord with me..."for once I will finish what I started." It didn't strike softly...it nearly bowled me over. I seem to finish very few things that I begin. Doesn't really matter what it is...I start gung ho...slowly become overwhelmed...and then I am just simply standing still. It is a huge fault of mine...and one I am trying to overcome. Like I said before, this has been a long journey- and I've come close to reaching my goal, but have fallen short. I have this little Japanese doll on my shelf...you set a goal, paint one eyeball in, then when you reach your goal, you can paint in the other eyeball. He's been winking at me for a very long time! I am going to paint that other eyeball in. I really am. Not tonight...not next month, or even the next- but I will. So as I admire my four shiny gold stars, I need to remind myself that this journey is not a race...it's a promise. To me. And I don't break promises.