Oh, dear

Lori tagged me and, to tell you the truth, I just don't have time to respond. It's too much. When I first looked at her post, I thought, "Oh, I can do that," because I thought it was just one question: "What were you doing 10 years ago?" But it's a lot of questions and I guess I'm going to break the chain.

I will tell you that 10 years ago I had just moved to West Virginia from Ohio. Mr. Shrinking Knitter and I met in Ohio in 1993. He moved back to his home town in 1995 and we did the long-distance dating thing for two years. And then I quit my job, sold my house, left my friends – and my gym! – and moved to the Middle of Nowhere.

Quitting my job wasn't a big deal. I knew I would find things to keep me busy, and I have.

Selling my house wasn't a big deal. I went from a small townhouse in a large city with a postage-stamp-sized yard to a lovely home in the country with lots of grass, flowers, trees, a pond and mountain views.

Leaving my friends wasn't even a big deal. We have e-mail and a flat-fee long-distance plan; going out to lunch with someone once in a while would be nice, but it isn't necessary for nurturing a friendship.

The worst thing about moving here was losing the gym. I give exercise most of the credit for my original 50-pound weight loss, and I blame lack of exercise for my subsequent 70-pound weight gain. Blaming the lack of exercise on not having a gym, however, is simply making excuses for not wanting to do whatever it takes.

I've been mostly back on track for a year and a half, and this active and healthy lifestyle is definitely my new normal. I'm getting ready for a houseful of company over the Fourth of July, including three teen-agers who eat non-stop. I've been stocking up and preparing snacky type foods which are never on my menu. I'll certainly be sampling, and don't expect a weight loss, but I'm looking at it as an annual event, not an everyday thing.

In other words, I won't be falling off the wagon. Heh.

The most significant thing that happened 10 years ago is that my dear little granddaughter was born in March, 1997. And now we're all anxiously awaiting the birth of the newest one, who is due in about three weeks.

Lori, I'm sorry I'm such a slacker about this, but right now I can't even remember my own name, let alone the lyrics to five songs! But thanks for thinking of me!