From a full-time, in-office job to fully remote at home, the COVID shut down of 2020 changed things for me, as it did millions of others. I went from an introvert who still enjoyed going out, to someone who avoided the world as much as possible – to the point I wasn’t driving enough and couldn’t keep my battery charged in my SUV! It was kind of like a country song at first – my dog, my vehicle, and my life all seemed to have passed away around the same time. A perfect storm, no?

Losing the pupper three weeks before the lockdown was hard – she’d been my baby for 10 years and losing her was very unexpected. Her absence made the sudden silence of lockdown even louder.

As someone who has been overweight all my life and an asthmatic, I found wearing the masks extremely uncomfortable and avoided it as often as possible. Not by not wearing it, no no no, because I am a rule follower! I just wouldn’t go out. Seems silly looking back now.

My sister became my ‘chauffeur’ and grocery deliverer and only visitor. Single with a cat. That was and still is me, but during this time when visiting and groups of people were discouraged/outlawed, it was a lonely existence.

Fortunately, I didn’t mind being alone. Sadly, it also meant there was no one holding me accountable to anything and I gained weight. It’s a vicious cycle – gaining the weight and not wanting people
to see, so you go out less and less, but being at home isn’t the best option either.

But things were chugging along and in 2023, the company I worked for closed, and for the first time since high school, I was going to be without a job. I called my sister in a panic, not knowing what I was going to do next. I got lucky and started a new job almost right away, again, working remotely from home, as our head office was in a different city. I put in the hours, still just chillin’ like a villain at home 90% of the time.

This past year, though, has had me doing a lot of thinking. I’m in my early 40’s, still single, no vehicle, no life. All I do is work and putter around the house. What was I doing? I realized I was wasting what time I had. So when my sister invited me on a birthday cruise (hers), I took the plunge – literally and figuratively. Not only did I know this would be physically difficult, but the amount of people on a cruise ship would be a test! But we went. We did the thing and had a great time!

It opened my eyes to how many opportunities I was probably missing out on – I mean, maybe not opportunities as costly, but just life in general and new experiences. I took a serious look at what I had going on and made the decision to take control and not just let things happen to me. Besides, my sister was getting tired of being my ‘chauffeur’ – but can she really call herself that when she wouldn’t wear the cap?

So every time we were in the car, we were talking about vehicle options. Again, being overweight can be limiting. Not all vehicles are comfortable to get in or drive, but after a couple of weeks of online searching and searching ‘is this vehicle comfortable to drive for an obese person’, it was time to hit the dealerships. Anxiety hit and the first weekend we only did a drive-by. The second weekend was more successful… so successful I signed on all the dotted lines.

Permission To Start Small

I know I know, if you’re still reading through this, you’re probably thinking, ‘ugh, another weight loss story’. It’s not. I’m still fat! But it is a continuing story about my baby steps back into the world.

New experiences, new friends, and new things I’ve missed out on during my absence from life.

So if you’re interested, come along for the ride. I’m not exactly sure where we’re going or what we’ll be doing, but I promise it’ll be a little shot of life — sometimes big adventures, but mostly learning to appreciate the little things with fresh eyes.