Yes....but...

WOW. What a great comments from my last post. I really appreciate all your kind words. I am very proud of what I did back then to get control of my life.

I left a very unstable, abusive relationship and started a journey of self-discovery. I took my life and my happiness into my own hands.

I wanted to follow up that post with a post on how I met my hubby. I met David only 4 days after I purchased Joey! But, then I realized I already told that story in THIS POST. (Boy, I love that story - once again it demonstrates what can happen when you follow your heart, and take matters into your own hands).

So, what could qualify to follow those two milestone posts? Well, how about the day I actually, totally, completely, realized the extent of my transformation and the day that my hubby-to-be demonstrated an amazing amount of support, love, and a bit of his realistic way of thinking. (BTW, all characteristics that I love about him!)

Did I mention that between the time I left Mark and the time that I met David I had joined Weight Watchers. In just over a year I lost 78 pounds. I had regained my confidence. I had shed my old, heavy, dead skin of sadness and replaced it with a body full of energy, happiness and excitement.

David is a runner. He is one of those weird people who enjoy strapping up his running shoes and hitting the trail.

Shortly after we met I joined a Running Room program. Slowly, I started to like running. Especially with David.

I decided to participate in the National Capital Race Weekend. This is an AMAZING weekend here in Ottawa. I signed up for the 5K run.

I trained. And trained.

You would have thought I was going to run back to back marathons.

My goal was to run the 5K in less than 30 minutes.

The day of the race came.

I was nervous.

David and I sat silently in the car as we drove to the race location in the heart of Ottawa.

Just as we reached the main street David glanced over at me. He did not see a confident, excited, pumped-up racer. Instead he saw fear and lots of tears.

He pulled over. Took my hand and squeezed it. Then he quietly said, " You do not have to do this. It is just a silly little run. "

I turned and looked at him. And then I began to sob uncontrollably.

David, it is not just a silly race. It is not about the race. It is about finally being happy. It is about taking control of your life. Rediscovering who you are and what you want out of life. It is about loosing weight, feeling good about yourself and taking care of yourself. It is about taking chances. It is about being optimistic. It is about meeting the man of your dreams. About planning your wedding and knowing that this is the man you want to be with for the rest of your life. It is about unconditional love. It is about knowing that one day you will be a wife and a mother. It is about life. It is about battling to get control. Finding that control. Finding yourself. It is a lot of things. A lot of things I never dreamed I would have in my life. A lot of things I never thought I deserved...but now know I have always deserved them...and knowing that I have them all now. With you. With us.

David hugged me tight, then pulled away, wiped my tears, and placed both hands on my shoulders, looked me straight in the eyes and calmed me down.

Yes Laura. It is about all of that. And you need to be very proud of all that. But, in the end, if you laid a rope from the start to the finish, it is just 5KM. I love you very much, and you can do this. This is just 5KM. You can do it. I love you more than anything. You have trained. You can do this, my Love. You can do this.

I ran the race that day.

It was a race of emotion and adrenalin. I remember the pride in David's voice as I ran past him. He was cheering me on and snapping photos.

The race was the pinnacle of my transformation. It represented so much to me. Yes, it was all those things I described - maybe even more, but in the end, it was just 5K and I did it in 26:50! A personal best by almost 4 minutes!!

As a side bar, I have decided to recapture that great feeling of accomplishment. After 3 babies in 38 months, my body is out of shape. So, I have decided today, to set a goal. I have decided that next May I will run in the National Capital Race Weekend. Maybe even the 10K - you know, since my life is at least twice as great as it was when I ran the 5K!