29 and Holding...

This past weekend, Paul, Stephen, and I took our summer pilgrimage to El Rancho Cima to spend time with Adam and Matthew. They had just finished week #3 of summer camp, and by all appearances, are having a very successful experience.

Last Wednesday, June 25th, was Adam’s 29th birthday – the main reason for the mom and pop trip to camp. I was having MAJOR trouble believing I was actually old enough to have a kid that was 29 years old, if you know what I mean. Really. It seems like I was just a kid yesterday.

I remember calling my mama on Adam’s 5th birthday, upset that my “baby” was already FIVE YEARS OLD. She laughed her gentle laugh, and then told me it was no big deal, since her baby – me – was 30!!!

Adam was one loved little boy. Besides having a mama and daddy that were so excited about being parents, the GRANDparent element was beyond thrilled!!! My daddy was 44 when I was born, and 79 when Adam was born. His first grandchild at 79! You would have thought that there was not another child ever born. The ICING on the cake was the fact that Adam was a red head. Whoa! My dad was especially partial to redheads! Then we named this cute little redhead “Adam”. My dad was overboard in love with this kid for sure!!

Rogers Adams was something else. I could write for DAYS about him – The Reverend R. Angel Adams, as he was affectionately known. To quickly sum up my daddy, I feel it is safe to say he was a lousy husband, not particularly a good dad, but a FABULOUS Paw-Paw. He loved those boys of mine. He never tired to them at his house, loved to tease with them, watch TV with them, even play “Nuh Nin Toe” (his very weird way to say Nintendo – just to poke at the boys) with them. And while he was sick for the last 7 years of his life, from 1985 on, he wanted to be as involved in their growing up as he could.

Adam Paul Newton was born at 11:11 am. I promise you, and I am not at all kidding, nor even exaggerating, that every day from then on, when the digital clock on the TV read 11:11, my Daddy would say OUT LOUD, “Well, it’s 11:11.” Like it was some mystical time. It was a time that was as important as Dec 7, 1941, or his birthday, or something. What a difference one little boy made.

Paw-Paw never missed a birthday, either. Whether it was at the house or at Putt-Putt or Show Biz Pizza, he was there and right in the middle of things, too. Hey, are there any Putt-Putt golf places anymore? My boys had a blast playing, and they had good parties, too.

Hey, son, let me say that time surely has gone by very quickly. Scary sometimes, I might add. But let me take this time to say, 6 days late, but you know me…

Happy Birthday, to you!!!

Love you more than you'll ever know.

It really did happen...

What can I say that hasn’t already been said!?!?

Let me repeat myself by admitting I am a very spoiled mama. And, I love it!

Thanks to my father-in-law, Andy Newton, for instilling in his oldest son a respect bordering on reverence for women in general, and wives and mothers in particular. By all accounts, it appears Andy was taught / demonstrated this quality by his dad.

Thanks to that oldest son, my wonderful husband, Paul, for loving me and continuing to exhibit this love and honor for wives and mamas to his sons for yet another generation to learn.

I know many mothers. All different kinds, from all different walks of life with different families, and with all different kinds of children. Few of them have the adult children that are as good to their moms as mine still seem to be to me. Again, I know I am “spoiled” .

This past Wednesday night, June 18th, Paul, Stephen, and I had a late dinner with Andrew and then just watched idly by as he walked away from us, through motel doors into the lobby and into a new phase of his life. Anchors Aweigh just doesn’t even begin to encompass the myriad of emotions that I am experiencing.

Everyone thinks that I am “worried” about Andrew’s choice of careers: the US Navy. No. Pure and Simple – No! I am so excited about this new venture. I know he is truly in the will of God, and He is in control. Andrew is going to have a blast. I just know it. Worry has never been a factor. That is not my problem.



I AM GOING TO MISS HIM!

There is no other way to say it. Few people know that he has always come by to see me once or twice a week. Ever since he graduated from high school back in 2000, he has managed to “swing by” and see me at work. Additionally, he, like Matt and Stephen, call me on a daily basis just to “check in” – see if I need anything, what I’m doing, etc. Andrew, like his daddy, tries his best to take care of the mama!!! Yes, I’m gonna miss him.

BUT, I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT IS GOING TO MISS HIM!

He’s a great man. He is incredibly active in our church – besides playing an awesome bass guitar, he does many things “behind the scenes” that no one really knows about. He goes by a couple of times a week to “check on things” – make sure the sound is okay, make sure the microphones and the cords are still straightened (he’s very OCD about these things). He is there. He’s dependable, consistent, and trustworthy – to say the least.

He’s an AWESOME cook. He can turn a simple piece of chicken into a meal fit for the King. He doesn’t do meals very simply either – they are generally masterpieces of culinary delight. He makes the best cheesy-chicken fondue / dip. His hot sauce is renowned. No one can make an alfredo sauce quite like he can, either. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, the boy can cook! My family is going to have to settle for Mama’s plainer-style of cooking again.

He’s a fabulous friend. You can tell him anything, and he will never repeat it. He will stand by you when no one else will. He has been known on many occasions to put his plans aside to be a friend to another. He will go to all kinds of extremes to help someone out – even put himself into fairly prickly places. We kid him that he’s a KISA – Knight In Shining Armor. There have been many girl “friends” that have needed help, needed a shoulder, needed a male with no pressures, and Andrew has been that male. Much to the consternation of many, though. Talk about some “prickly places”. Girls might say they just want a friend, but they lie. Girls might say no strings attached, but they lie. But Andrew still will help anyone who needs him.

He’s an incredible worker. All of his life he has been the “physical” child. He loves doing things – loves being busy. He can figure out “how-to” do just about anything, too. He has never been afraid to work, has an incredible work ethic. There are many people all over Montgomery County that when they need something done, they call Andrew.

I guess I need to shut up. I do not want to sound boastful or prideful, but I am one proud Mama. I really am.

Yes, I am going to miss James Andrew Newton. But, I AM proud of the man my son has become. Truth be known, I am PROUD of the men all of my sons have become. And, while Andrew has made his parents proud, and his friends and family also, I now know that he has the chance to do something bigger.

He can make his country proud.
Anchors Aweigh. I love you, son.

6 down... God only knows how many more to go...

Let’s see. I really am enjoying this week. Oh, don’t be fooled. The trick to the lap-band surgery is that your stomach is cinched to about the size of a lemon instead of about the size of a football (the size of most “fatties” stomachs). With the surgery, you are “full” after drinking your 6-8 oz of protein drink, or eating your 6-8 oz of jello. Well, let me share with you that I have definitely, absolutely, positively - whatever is the buzz word that I am saying too much at the time - been HUNGRY!!! My arm looks good about 3 in the afternoon, or especially 11 at night.

BUT I HAVE MADE IT through week #1. Only going by the Curves scales – not my own or the ones at work – I have officially lost 6 ½ lbs. I worked out Mon – Fri (even went to a workout before Wednesday nite service. Just told people not to sit too closely!!! Hahaha!!!)

I HAVE MADE IT.

You have to understand. I hate, hate, HATE to sweat. Let me say that again. I HATE to sweat. I have NEVER liked to exercise. It was not even remotely close to anything I would want to do. Even in school, PE was my LEAST favorite subject. Oh, I did everything, and I could perform all of the activities well, always made great grades, it just wasn’t fun.

Now DANCING was another thing. I loved, loved, LOVED to dance. I started taking ballet when I was 5 years old and took either ballet, tap or jazz or a combination every year until my jr year in high school. I even took dance classes for all of my PE classes in college. And, of course, I danced my life away during my college years, too. In my quest to lose weight, since then, I’ve tried the “sweating to the oldies”, or the like type of exercise, but never very successfully.

I obviously needed to try something else…so…

Thankfully, this is different. Of course, I will admit, I have a different mindset than ever before. That is the primary difference. You know: the old battlefield of the mind problem. It takes waking up one morning and saying this is it!! But, the ladies at Curves have been great. They are encouraging, without being pushy, helpful without being showy. Moreover, there are other women there with great success stories to let you know “you can do it, too”. They play great “get up and go” music: some oldies, but mostly Christian music set to an up beat. I have to admit “Holy, Holy, Holy” or “Great is Thy Faithfulness” or “Amazing Grace” performed to “moving music” is a little much, even for me. Oh well, whatever works.

Now on to week #2.

Thirty Days

I am definitely showing my vulnerability. Such an incredible way to embarrass myself completely. I am willing to take that chance…

Just today, I told a young friend of mine who is very new to the world of “blogging”, that I didn’t blog like most people: I didn’t write the daily goings on, or daily thoughts of my life. However, I still loved blogging. I started this journey using this writing as a vehicle for me to finally get my “stories” written down. You know, for posterity, and all of that. HAHA.

Point of Departure...

However, today marks a very important day to me. And, perhaps if I use a rather public forum to “announce” it, to talk about it, I will find success in my new venture.

I have struggled with my weight for 26 years now. No, that really isn’t true. It’s been a lifelong dilemma, just at different levels. I was “chubby” as a kid. Never ever fat, just more than I needed. I had a “normal” weight from about 12 to 17 years old. I gained a little extra weight in a fun summer in California before my Senior year. I got the extra pounds off very quickly and kept it off until my second baby. By then, I was 28 years old and it is not chubby anymore – but fat!!

I have added and subtracted, then added again, and find myself now at 54 years old fatter that I ever ever dreamed was possible. I have never had any health problems associated with the weight, until now. For all of my life, I have had low blood pressure. Too low sometimes, especially when I was having migraines. But, the opposite is oh-so-true these last couple of months. My blood pressure has been stroke level, and difficult to control.

I could elaborate here talking of other health issues, but there’s no need. Let it suffice to say there are some.

Oh, diets. I have tried them all. As a family, we try to eat very healthfully, I just like lots of healthy food. HAHA! I know it is almost past time to get serious.

Let me begin by saying my Dr is a very good friend. I like her a great deal, and trust her opinion. She feels that I am a prime candidate for lap-band surgery. She has already talked to my insurance and certified that the procedure in medically necessary, and therefore my insurance will pay for it.

I am not really sure this is what I want to do. So I have read everything I can find about the surgery, talked with several people that have had it done, talked with a surgeon yesterday.

Still, I am not sure. So, I decided that I would try to just “eat” the way one must eat after the procedure and see where that will get me. Think about it: you only get to eat 6-8 oz of food 6 times a day, with 64 oz of water “sipped” during the day. The first couple of weeks, perhaps even month, is limited to liquids and soft foods, protein drinks being a chief source of nutrition.

Come on now!!! If any “fatty” only drinks 48 ozs of “food” for about 6 weeks, one should definitely expect some changes. Right!?! So, I am going to try this first.

Oh yeah, I joined Curves today for 30 days.

So, on July 5th, my 30 days will be up with Curves and I will have completed 30 days of the Kathleen’s not-lap-band-non-surgery diet. It can’t help but be different.

Later…