She Looks Familiar to Me

I saw a woman at the gym this morning. I know I know her but she seems different. If you look closely at her face, you can see an outline of what the shape of her face is supposed to be. You can barely see the two cheekbones that used to become perfectly round when she laughed. Her eyes, which used to sparkle all the time, now look so sad. The extra fat in her eyelids has changed the shape of eyes almost making her look Asian. The fire in her belly looks as though it has been extinguished with pounds of chocolate, cheese, and chips with dip. Her once thick but athletic thighs are now dimpled, even on the front.

But she's here. At the gym. On the treadmill: sometimes running sometimes walking. In spinning class: sometimes with lots of tension sometimes with no tension. Doing nautilus. Adding weight and reps each week. And you can see a speck of the confidence that she once had so abundantly. A confidence that she knows, without a doubt, that she will be able to shed the extra 50 pounds she has packed on this past year. A year of many accomplishments but so much turmoil. A year of emotional growth and an awakening to the limitations of others, no matter how much friendship, insight, and especially forgiveness she has provided. A year that is thankfully ready to become history.

So my thoughts are with her today, hoping that she has a Merry Christmas, but especially hoping that everything falls into place for her in 2009.