Lapbanding

is very real.....

This past Sunday, we celebrated my mother-in-law's 76th birthday. Being an Italian cook straight from Italy--what she wants for her birthday is to cook dinner for her la familia. What that means is--several courses of old fashioned home cooked Italian food, a table laden with her best made dishes--minestrone, home made pasta, home made meatballs, chicken romano, penne with marinara sauce, roasted potatoes with garlic--to name just a few. Nestled in big Italian crocks and spread on huge platters with all of us sitting around sharing the fruits of her labor, sipping on wine, talking about the things that families talk about when they get together, unwrapping presents and blowing out candles and eating ice cream and cake.

Last Saturday afternoon, as the rain fell outside, an old friend, her darling niece Abigail and I sat at one our favorite neighborhood haunts and chatted over a lovely glass of Montevina Sauv Blanc. I had a bowl of French onion soup to warm me up, my friend opted for an appetizer of hamburger sliders and Abigail had a French dip. We gabbed about the things that old friends chat about when they get together, we entertained Abigail with our banter and got the inside scoop on how a preteen views life. We swapped stories and advice, laughed and grimaced and enjoyed the respite from life out in the big, bad world. Afterwards, we went shopping--my friend was on a specific mission at Pottery Barn Kids and I went along for the fun. And, along the way, we found ourselves smack in the middle of a wonderful sale---so we shopped.

The night before that--Friday--with Carmen feeling a bit under the weather, we made no specific plans except to light a few pumpkin spice candles, dig out some furry throws and recharge after a long week. But fate had other plans for us. My sister and my nephew popped in after his hockey game--both them in need of some nourishment. I ordered some wings---hot, garlic and dry rub---from a local joint , poured wine for my sister and I and then we sat around watching the Pitt game. I nibbled on a wing or two and every once in awhile, my sister and I would sneak out on the porch---where it was chilly and damp--to have a contrand smoke.


So, why am I telling you all of this?
Just to give a little glimpse into what living with a Lapband is like......

Yep, it's not at all cult-like or crazy!!! We don't have to weigh and measure or write down everything we put in our mouths, we can eat and cavort with the everyday folks, we can go to restaurants and be in the presence of tables filled with wonderful food, we can eat foods that our restrictive diets of long ago forbade us to eat, we can drink wine, we can do whatever we want to do..... plus we can do it all--without worrying about dieting tomorrow.