Got take the good with the bad

This picture is of me and my boys on Mother's day. Just week a week after the closing of the pool and hot tub.

I have had a membership at the Ymca off and on for years. Sometimes, I canceled because of lack of money or because I just didn't use the membership enough. I got the membership a year ago April and I used here and there. At the most, I went once a week. A lot of times, I would go around the time my draft would be due. I would tell myself there is no sense paying 60 a month for me not to use it. I would repeat the process month after month..
I loved to use the hot tub and that was my motivation for not canceling the membership. I loved the hot tub. It was my way to reduce stress. It made a hard day a little easier.
Well, back in April, the goofy Ymca announced that the that the pool would have to close for six weeks and the hot tub would be closed forever. I say goofy Y in humor. But trust me, I wasn't laughing then. After, the Y closed, we checked out a local hotel that had a hot tub and it was empty. I about threw myself in there and cried. I had a hard time adjusting.
Something good did happen with the bad. I spent two weeks running to the Y so I could soak up the last bit of pleasure. I didn't have it in me to drive there just to sit in the tub. So, I worked out. Then, I soaked in the hot water. I would make time to go even if that meant going before or after an appointment.
I also used the pool a few times in that last week. Even though, I hadn't been using it. Suddenly it was like ugh.... your taking my pool. How cruel... don't ya know that I like it waiting for me when I feel like it?
Well, since the closing of the hot tub and the pool a new routine has found it's way to me. I no longer donate my money to the Ymca. I am there to work out at least three times a week if not more. I have used the pool since it's reopening more in June than I did in the whole year. I am loving it. I have discovered that if I swim in the lap pool that I have less fear of drowning and actually get exercise, because you have to keep moving.
These changes have made a big difference in my life. I feel so much better about myself. I can see that some parts of me is slimming down or shaping up some. I feel better overall. I have more energy. I crave to do something other than sitting. It's really hard for me not to squeeze some form of a workout in. Tonight, my son and I took a bike ride for about 20 minutes with his friend.
My eating habits have improved a lot. I am having more will power than ever before. I am speaking up for myself. I took my husband a while to understand that I am not being mean when I say quit offering me junk. And especially quit putting it in my hands.. It's not that I am perfect and don't still eat yummy stuff but I have better control over what I eat.
Here is me in some pants that I found at a church rummage sale and it's a couple sizes smaller than I used to have to buy. It is a little tight but I felt proud that they fit me. So, proud that after I fell in the hole that my dog dug up and got grass stains that I didn't change, because I wanted to show off my husband. Go ahead and laugh at the thought of me falling. haha
Here is a picture of me about 20 lbs lighter.


The picture of my legs is me admiring myself in the bathroom mirror while it was in the kitchen. My husband was bathing the dog and I snapped the picture.