Thursday, September 25, 2014

• What I Learned from Kitty Litter

I was pet sitting Taz, the world's friendliest cat. His parents were due home in three days, but his kitty litter box was dangerously low. I texted his dad. Do you have more cat litter? He did not. Would I buy some, he asked?

Taz's brand was available only in a 25-pound box. Holy moly, I thought as I picked up the carton—25 pounds weighs a lot more than it looks.

As I hoisted the monster-size box into my car, a thought struck me: I am more than 50 pounds overweight. That's two boxes of kitty litter. Two! I imagined each of my hands clutching a 25-pound box of litter. In my mind, my shoulders hunched. My back ached.

That's how much weight I carry around every day.

One of the reasons I love animals is that they don't judge a person by their looks. Taz Kitty doesn't care that I am overweight. That's how I always think about my weight: how people will judge me. When I take pictures of myself I never show my entire body. I hide behind trees, animals, other people—anything. That damned box of kitty litter left nowhere to hide. All I thought about was my poor body, struggling under its own weight.

Kitty litter taught me a lesson. But there's a problem. I left the box at Taz's house, behind the laundry room door. I am comfortable forgetting the weight of that box.

It was a hard lesson: I pray that I remember it.

6 comments:

  1. I once belonged to a weight loss board and they reminded you about a pound of butter for every pound you lost. when you say "I lost a pound" it didn't seem like much, but when you thought of it in terms of butter, it was a lot easier to be happy with it

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    1. Now that is meaningful. I have a rice recipe that calls for a pound of butter and I always cut that in half, because a pound is just too much. Thank you for the tip.

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  2. I know ma has gained 10 pounds and she can feel a difference in her legs and back. Today the doctor told her that even though she is still in the healthy BMI range that they feel the 10 pounds is contributing to her problems with her muscles in her lower body. Havine MS sucks but when you add weight those nerve endings, its only going to get worse. Doc told her to get 5 pounds off and see if it felt better. We will see if it helps

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    1. I wish your mom the best in her struggles, Carma. I know you can help her. xoxoxo

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  3. It is always amazing when we see people that have lost like 120 lbs, which is like losing an entire person. I guess carrying that weight around in kitty litter will help melt your own weight.

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    1. The key, Emma, is remembering that lesson every time I go to the refrigerator. Sadly, I've already "forgotten" it more times than I can count.

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