Fat Cat (The Person-Not the Cat)

My friend, Val, recently did a blog post about her fat cat. She told me about the cat a few months back, but I was truly shocked to see how fat this cat actually is! You must click on the link to truly appreciate what I am saying!

Growing up, one of the nicknames my dad gave me was "Fat Cat". I wasn't really "fat", just larger than my sister who was and still is (even after 4 babies) a "stick". I am not posting this to make you think my dad is a cruel guy-he is actually pretty awesome! However, I do think that sometimes we unknowingly say things to our kids that have long-term impact on them. "Fat Cat" has been one of those things. I have always been self-conscious about my weight, but not enough to do some of the drastic things others have done to be skinny.

Lately I have been feeling more "fat catish" than I have in a long time. I haven't had my walking shoes on since June. Don't get me wrong-I have walked since June-but mainly between my classroom and the main office at school, from the toothpaste section to the frozen goods section at WalMart, and from my downstairs recliner to the upstairs refrigerator and back at my house!

The past 8 months or so haven't been too great for my physical health. I have put on about 10 pounds, and all three pairs of my "teacher pants" are too tight. I don't have much left to rotate between!

I don't know what my problem is. I am completely unmotivated to exercise or eat right. I don't know if it is a combination of a really tough class this year (33 great kids with lots of individual problems), problems within my family that are not my own but still overwhelm me, or the fact that I turned 40 this year and I guess that this is just what happens when you become "middle-aged".

More than anything I think it is mainly about finding time to take care of myself before carpooling, cooking, cleaning, keeping everyone in clean underwear, running errands, paying bills, keeping up with my Church callings, and teaching 6th grade full-time. While shopping at Costco yesterday, a woman who was running a little dress/skirt kiosk hit the nail on the head. She encouraged me to buy one of the skirts I was looking at. When I told her that I seldom buy things for myself but was looking for my girls, she said, "Mothers are always martyrs. You should focus on taking care of yourself!"

I am not saying that my girls are the reason that I am feeling like a "fat cat", but I do think there is a correlation between my current "fat cat" feeling and the fact that I run (not literally-I wouldn't be a "fat cat" then) from the time I get up at 6:00 a.m. to the time I collapse into bed at 10:00 (okay-maybe 9:00) p.m.

It is time to figure out how to juggle all the "stuff" in my life so that I can stop feeling like a "fat cat". Any suggestions?