The Pudgy Kleptobotanist

Ok, I'm fat. Fat fat fat. I weigh 135, which pushes this squat, small-boned European to a BMI of 24. Until my thyroid surgery--and excluding my pregnancy--I was a comfortable, if somewhat pudgy 128. Now that my metabolism is regulated by drugs, I am totally unclear as to what I can and can't eat and how much I need to exercise.

I began doing aerobics last spring, in a last-ditch attempt to look all right at my college reunion party. It worked really well, and I continued on through most of the fall. But then winter hit, and when the light goes, so does my energy. I tend to lie in bed whenever I'm home. This sounds awful, but it's the truth. The girls don't mind too much, as they are all over the house, doing their almost-four-years-old thing. I read, I check my mail, etc.

Now it's spring, and like the bear waking up, I'm on the move. I've started walking at dusk, looking for green things to clip with my Leatherman Micra, the only utility tool with a strong pair of scissors, instead of pliers, on the end. I wander around my neighborhood, noting which houses are vacant (not as many anymore), which are being used as vacation rentals (some)..., while surreptitiously picking up pine resin (I'm learning how to make incense) and making small bouquets of my neighbors' extra blossoms. Note: I only take flowers when there is an abundance of them, or if the bush is in a weird, out of the way place. I feel guilty about not asking, but not enough to stop doing it.

I also listen to music while I'm walking, and have been surprised at some of the random, unidentifiable, but great songs that have made it onto the Shuffle...no doubt a result of my wanton downloading. Yesterday I was singing Oasis's "Don't Look Back in Anger" at the top of my lungs while cruising down busy Jefferson St. This is not Jeff's kind of music, so I normally wouldn't be hearing it/singing it at all. It was extra special.

And...I do become more philosophical when I slow down and walk. Themes emerge, dreams get tossed around in my head, and best of all, I am satisfied, mostly.