The Real Reason

Get ready for a whole lot of truthiness and the potential for some serious inner monologing. I'm going to tell you why I came into blogging. It's not very original. You might say it lacks for the earth-shattering glamour that makes for the best origin stories, but and nonetheless, it's what I've got.

The story goes a little something like this... Coupled with what you read in my last post, I had gotten a subscription to Redbook in the fall and noticed that they were highlighting a lot of pretty normal women who opened up their entire worlds in direct and indirect ways by blogging. The "I can do this, right? I've so got this?" energy bubbled up when I read what these ladies were doing and how they had positioned themselves as experts in a particular life-and-style category. One blog really inspired me: Corals & Cognacs, written by Hallie Wilson. Hallie's content and tone made blogging seem to be both serious work and ridiculous fun. In the process, she made me really think about myself and the life I had come to lead... wearing only yoga pants, shape-shifting jersey separates, and chunky cardis.

To say I have struggled with my weight isn't accurate. I don't struggle with it; it beats my ass into submission on the regular and within the past two or three years, I had really let it kick me while I was down. I quit smoking, got married, and started teaching all about five years ago. There's nothing like a steady relationship, a steady job, and a decrease in metabolic rate mega-star nicotine to help you snuggle right down into a squishy, forgiving rut of cozy clothes with no zippers. In fact, I had so gotten used to eschewing a lot of the personal style that my pre-elastic life prided itself on that, when I tried to pull myself out of the rut and into my old jeans, well... When I got home, they were gone and all that was left was this:

Kate, 

We love you, which is why you need to know that it's not you, it's us. We just don't fit together any more. We used to hang out so much and hit the town all of the time, but now all you seem to want to do is hang out on the couch with Yoga Pants. Like, that's cool and everything and they're super nice, but we have places to go and people to see. If you ever want to come back and hang out, we'll be here. Take care of yourself, okay?

Love,
~Your size 10 Luckys

You might not know what it's like when, seemingly out of nowhere, your jeans break up with you. But I do. It's really painful and the kind of wake-up call you need to get yourself, as Cher would say, snapped out of it. Indeed, all happened in the weeks before New Year's, but that's just pure coincidence.

I'm doing a lifestyle purge, and you're coming with me.