Once Upon A Time...

Once upon a time there was a woman, who spent most of her life being told (by her mum) that she was fat.  Now, this woman was actually quite thin when she was young, and she could eat pretty much anything, she was always very active, in short she was a normal, happy, healthy young woman. But that didn't stop her mother telling her at every opportunity, how fat she was, how big her legs were, and what a fat bum she had.  The mum loved to put her on diets, and she became so thin, that her friends were worried that she was becoming anorexic.

One day, the woman learned that her brother had died in a terrible accident, and so she began to eat... and eat, and eat.  She ate so much that none of her clothes fitted, and she got depressed - so she ate some more.  Then she went on a diet, and lost some weight.  She met a fellow and they got married and had a little boy.  All the while she was pregnant with the little boy, she 'ate for two' because she thought that's what you were supposed to do, so she got fat again.  A couple of years later, she had a little girl, realised what a dope she married, got a divorce, moved house, and mourned the passing of several more important people in her life.

Over the years the woman got fatter and fatter and fatter, with occasional periods of weight loss, but mostly, she just got fatter and fatter and fatter.  The fatter she became, the more unhappy she became.  The more unhappy she became, the more she looked to her mum for support - after all she had been so supportive and helpful when the woman was younger, but all the mum did was to put her down and not give her any help or encouragement at all.

After a few years, the woman met two people who would become the most important people in her life, aside from her children.  First she met a woman, who was to become her best friend (BFF) and main support.  Then, several years later, she met a man who loved her just the way she was.  He didn't care if she was fat or thin, he just loved her without question.  In his own quiet way, he helped her to understand that regardless of how fat she is, she is worthy of love and respect.

Now... if you listen carefully, you may just hear the sound of wedding bells being carried by the breeze.  The woman has vowed that she will not be this fat on the day she marries her coal mining farmer.  Whilst discussing potential weight loss methods with her Darling Daughter (DD), the topic of Michelle Bridges 12WBT came up (the woman had seen it mentioned on dear old Facebook) and DD said that she would pay for the program for the woman if she wanted to do it.  The woman accepted the offer from her DD, and is now looking forward to beginning the 12WBT.

(She also fully intends on living Happily Ever After)