Recharging myself and the emotional baggage of clothes

Happy Sunday Bleeps!

Did you miss me?  You know I missed you!  But, alas, I needed to recharge and that recharging means staying off of the laptop.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: try it, it's soooooo freeing.

So tonight I had a church discussion and they asked us to rate our week: 1-10.  1 was No Thanks and 10 was WOO HOO.  We were to go through each day and talk about it and then give our final number. Mine was a 9. :-)

Monday- It was a day off.  That's an automatic 10. Plus I got to sleep in, visit with my family, and knock things off of my To Do list.

Tuesday- Another private class with Hottie Instructor. The stretching felt so good I would have given the day a 12.

Wednesday- We had our last meeting for a book discussion at church. The topic of the book was Joy...and yet the discussion turned depressing.  It was a good discussion, but it brought me down so I knocked it down to a 7.

Thursday- I didn't really remember Thursday except that I had a good workout.  So it was an 8.

Friday- I had dinner with my little girlfriend and boyfriend (and their parents).  I hadn't seen them in a while and they always bring a smile to my face.  So that was a 9.

Saturday- Was a very emotional and productive day.  A friend came over and brought all of her clothes.  We went through her clothes and mine and filled the couch with clothes to donate. *more on that later*.  So it was a 9.

I didn't include today, but I'll give it a 9.

It started at church.  Choir sang a beautiful song and as I stood there looking out at the congregation I saw some head bopping and it made me teary eyed. 

Then I went to starbucks for lunch (Surprise). 

Next it was on to the mall.  I had been thinking about a bag I had seen yesterday and I needed to get it.  So I did :-)  It's my new summer pocketbook.  So pretty and colorful!
 
Then it was on to Target....for some dirty work.  I need some new sports bras.  BOOOO...if you think trying on bathing suits is bad...Bah!  Nothing on sports bras!  But, I found one and I'm cool with it.

And then it was time for the gym.  My plan was to get there in time for the race.  I would jump on the bike in front of the Fox tv and watch Tony Stewart Dominate!  Um...he crashed on lap 8.  Do you remember how I was on the bike back during March Madness and how the Syracuse game almost killed me?  Well I hadn't been on since then (well I started back up yesterday). My jaw was clenched the whole time they kept showing the crash footage.  I biked the heck out of that mountain.  And almost fell off after.  DOH! *Side note, he came back and finished 25th...cause he's AWESOME!  Tony Stewart CALL ME!*

I came home after and relaxed before the church discussion....so it was a good day (except for the fitting room and crash).

It struck me that I related almost all of my days to my workouts.  I'm pretty proud of that.  I didn't factor in work at all...there was some stress, but I didn't let that affect my overall week.  GO ME!

So let's go back to yesterday.  My goal for the day was to get a full garbage bag full of clothes to donate. I have too many clothes.  I end up wearing the same things over and over again because I can't even see everything I have.  When I find something I like then I tend to get multiple in different colors.  That's not a problem, but my numbers are a bit obsessive.  So, if I haven't worn it in ages it goes.  If I have 5 of the same thing 1-2 go.  If it's too big, it's outta here.

There is one shirt that I loved so I got it in two different colors.  I wear the blue one a lot.  I have been hesitant to get rid of the others because they are fun. But I now have more "fun" clothes than I used to.  It used to be a big deal when I found a shirt that I looked good in and that looked good on me.  I realized that it was okay to lose two of them because I have more options now :-)

My friend brought her clothes and we went through hers first.  I am so proud.  She brought 3 large garbage bags and left with 1.5.  It was tough and easy.  If she made a face when she put it on, I said NO.  If it gave her no shape, I said NO.  If it was a maternity shirt, I said NO (her daughter is 6).  There is a pile that we labeled "10 lbs to go".  Currently they are snug, but in 10 pounds she will rock it.

We had gone through her clothes a couple of years ago and this Mickey Mouse sweatshirt was a keep.  I remember her being hesitant about keeping it and hesitant about letting it go.  It was hard.  She kept it.  Yesterday she was quick to put it in the No pile, and then followed up with "but it's soft and comfortable...".  It's a nice sweatshirt so it went back into the keep pile.  Something really stuck with me for a while so eventually I asked her "What do you think of when you see this shirt? Is it mostly happy or sad?"  The answer was sad.  It went it the NO pile! 

The pile on the couch would be a lot bigger, but I gave her some shirts that she looked FABULOUS in and she gave me some back from the good old "skinny" days...I am happy to hold them for her until she is ready for them again :-)

There is a lot of emotional baggage when it comes to clothes. I am glad that we went through her clothes first.  Since I was so harsh on her to get rid of stuff it made it a lot easier for me to say no to stuff.  Grab a friend to help you through this process.  It's more than just letting go of clothes.  It can be a therapy session....and a bottle of Skinny Girl Margaritas helps!


****Please note****
  
If you feel like you are alone on your journey and you just need some encouragement I am here for you!  Shoot me an email and I will do my best to check in on you or give you the words of support you need several times a week.  The journey is so much easier if you have support.


jhendersonfit@gmail.com