Praise and Atta-boys

What a difference a few days makes. The weather is warming down here, the sun is shining, wind is dying down, and it feels good to get out into the sunshine and feel it's warmth on your skin - with SPF 15, of course!

I am happy to report that the two creams are making my "proud skin" feel a little more humble. I have to say that the nitroglycerin cream prescribed did provide some interesting side effects and quite a few not-so-funny "exploding butt" jokes. But, hey - it's working so I can live with the jibes. And I will even admit that now that I feel better, some of them are pretty funny.

I went to my second support group meeting last night. The topic was setting goals and recognizing and hopefully ridding yourself of the barriers to reaching your goals. I managed to keep from doing the teacher snicker as everybody tried to come up with their measurable, achievable goals. (We educators have been writing them for years!) But then I realized I hadn't written anything down on my own paper.

Most of the people are a year or more out of their lapband surgery. Only one other person was a "short timer" like me. So their goals were more specific in many ways. Our group leader, Emmy, and her intern led a great discussion on goals and problems attaining them. They asked us to write a one month, six month, and one year goal. I realized i needed to get busy thinking what i wanted.

I knew my one year goal, but had to think on the others. Here is what I came up with:

1 Month - ride my exercise bike at a high energy level for at least 10 minutes, 3 times a week.

6 Months - Be around 240 so that ALL my old swimsuits can be tossed because they are too big.

1 Year - Be off of my blood pressure and cholesterol medicines FOREVER because I have established habits that will keep me on a healthy lifestyle.

And that, my online support group, is where YOU come in!

We all need a little nudge once in a while. And we don't mind them; in reality, we probably secretly appreciate them. But, we all need a little recognition that we are on the right track. A little praise and an occasional ATTA-BOY goes a very long way in making you feel good about yourself.

One of the things I recognize about myself is that it is extremely hard to accept praise. I always feel like I am being recognized for doing something that had to be done. I don't always recognize it for what it is - recognition for achieving something that other people saw as a good thing and were genuinely proud of me for doing it.

Recognition doesn't have to be loud or gregarious. A high-five is a fine atta-boy. A grin at the right time says a lot. An OK sign works just as well as a chest pounding, fist raised dance. And it secretly makes you feel good. And when you feel good about yourself, you tend to make even better decisions!

I wrote a poem the other day, and it was published in our local island paper. I was secretly proud of myself. But, what made my day was what happened at the drive-thru window at our local CVS Pharmacy. The pharmacist herself came to the window and told me she had a couple of questions. I had a medicine change so I assumed it was about that. Nope! I got an ATTA-BOY!

She said to me, "Was that your poem I read this morning in the paper? It was so beautiful it almost made me cry. I had to read it three times!" I don't remember what she asked after that; I was too busy grinning from ear-to-ear.

We all gave each other praise and support at our group meeting. We all knew we wanted the same thing. It was a productive meeting. AND, I got home in time to watch "V."

Ok, I really don't think that lizard Anna deserves any praise or atta-boys. I don't look at geckos the same anymore.

ATTA-BOY FIFTH COLUMN!