I am currently in Long Island NY with my brother and his family after a sad occasion, my sister in law’s funeral.  After the wake and the funeral as the situation begins to return to whatever normal will look like we were all sitting around talking and the conversation turned to cars.  After about 15 minutes of this my nieces and I started fading in and out and drifting into that semi conscious stage of not listening but trying to look attentive.  In one of our more conscious moments we realized that was the case.  One of the women had been on a little shopping trip that morning and told me she noticed a shirt just like the one I had worn the other day which we both liked and it was on sale….Fill in the blanks…three women, bored to tears with the guys’ conversation, finding a sale in a nearby store.  We loaded into one car and off we went for some retail therapy.

This one hour shopping foray was filled with NSV’s for me.  For those of you who may not be familiar with the term that means Non Scale Victories.  While at nine years post op I may not be having those REALLY SIGNIFICANT moments like wrapping a normal size towel around myself or being able to tie my own shoelaces, yes the victories still continue.  It is up to each of us to find them and celebrate them so we never forget where we began and how far we have come.  There is no book that says life must be filled with struggles, and on my journey I have chosen to live my new life being grateful and filled with joy. 

So here are my NSV’s for this past Sunday’s one hour of retail therapy:

• At the end of a week of high stress, upset schedule, travel, lost sleep and grief I actually had the physical and mental energy necessary to go shopping late in the afternoon;
• Just wanting to go shopping with two women in their late thirties early forties with what I consider to be good bodies and have an 18 year old along as well is a victory for me;
• Walking into a store and at 64 years old going directly to the junior department to look at tops
• Confidently taking clothing I have selected into the dressing room and not buying the first thing that fits just because it fits.
• Buying a top because I love not only how it looks in my perception but how it feels and how I feel in it.
• Smiling when I find out that my niece has bought the exact same top as I have.  Just knowing how she dresses, how she looks in her clothes and that we both made the same choice shaves a few years off my age in my mind.

What are you celebrating today that will support you making good choices tomorrow?