Celebrate the small stuff!

As I mentioned in Week 2- DON'T GIVE UP!, we celebrate everything in my house. Those who know me well, know that is not a totally new concept for me. (We used to have full-on parties for everything we could think of.) Now that we are older and we have a son, we have transformed what we mean by celebrate. With Drew, we have started "celebrating" all of the positive things that he does and all of his accomplishments. Unless it is a physically dangerous situation, I always try to praise Drew for what he is trying to do (which normally is "helping"), before I tell him "No" or explain why he can't/shouldn't do what his is trying to do. For example, every time he hears me at the refrigerator refilling my cup with ice and water, he runs over and grabs the bottom of the cup. Instead of yelling "No!" (which was, of course, my first instinct), I take a sturdier hold on my cup and thank him for helping. I have realized that usually he is trying to do something good, but he may be going about it in a way that a parent would normally not allow. Every since he could walk, if his milk cup was empty, he would go to his refrigerator and get the gallon of milk and lug it, as best he could, to where ever I was so that I could refill his cup. At first glance, you think this 13 month old is going to pour milk all over the living room, but because I never hollered at him for bringing the milk jug to me, he has never tried to open it himself. I just refill his cup and say, "Thank you" and he teeters back to the refrigerator and puts the jug back. More than dealing with Drew, this has also translated into my weight loss. The day I was laid-off, I remember walking down the hallway at work and noticing that for the first time in a LONG time, I could see my feet! My belly was no longer obscuring the view. I was so happy and I remember, when I was talking to my aunt on the phone that night, while I was riding my bike and trying to reframe my situation, I mentioned to her that I could see my feet! She celebrated with me for a second. It was great to have something positive to celebrate in a situation that seemed so negative in the moment. Every time I lose a pound or even a fraction of a pound (my scale goes to tenths), I have a private celebration for myself in the bathroom! When I hit certain milestones, I celebrate by telling all of my family and friends on Facebook and they celebrate with me. I still celebrate every time I have to buy a smaller clothing size or bra size. It is the small celebrations that make it easy to keep going! We still celebrate all of the big things, like birthdays, around here too, of course! We just keep all of the unhealthy eating out of the small celebrations. What do I mean by "celebrate?" Celebrate to me means recognizing the event. When you have lost a pound or a half of a pound on the scale, stop and congratulate yourself. SMILE!! Be proud of all of your hard work! You deserve recognition, if only by yourself. You did this and you can continue to do whatever you set your mind to. Break down your big goals into small attainable goals and start achieving them! When a co-worker (and dear friend), who had been telling me that she could not walk down stairs, walked down two flights of stairs in the parking deck one day, I stopped my car, rolled down the window and yelled "did you just walk down the stairs??" She said, "Yes!" I clapped and told her how proud I was of her. She had no way of knowing that I had seen her walking down those stairs, but I know it must have felt good to celebrate that milestone. I smiled for hours after getting to witness that. She continued to walk down the stairs and even added the stairs inside of the courthouse. I continued to celebrate with her every time I witnessed her accomplishing another positive fitness goal. Celebrate each and every achievement, even if you just say, "Way to go me!!!" However, I would prefer if you allow me to celebrate those small achievements with you. :) Let me know how you are doing on your goals and I will celebrate!!