Wonderful visit

Michelle and I were so greatly blessed this past weekend when Christy and her family (husband Reggie, daughter Izzy who turned 3 in February, and son Daniel, born January 18, whom we had not yet met) stayed with us while visiting Michigan. They spent overnight with us on Friday night, and then on Saturday we all enjoyed a lovely picnic together at Gallup Park, a local bright spot that we used to visit with Christy and her brother John on short day trips while I was still inpatient at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital during summer and fall 1993.

We got—I should say, Michelle got, as she is an excellent photographer— numerous photographs of both their time with us at our home—here is one that Christy took of Michelle and I with Daniel, and then a couple of pictures by Michelle, of Daniel and I both showing delight in one another, and one of my helping Izzy with her purple tennies:

and also during the picnic on Saturday. (This one of Grandpa, or 'Boppa AB,' as they call me, snuggling Daniel is from that occasion.)

Finally, on Sunday afternoon, we gathered all together at my brother John's home (JB), south of Jackson, and I was delighted to be able to get, first, this photo with Izzy and Daniel,

recreating one like I had with Christy and John at Christmastime 1986, and then, a four-generation shot with Christy, Daniel, my mother, me, Izzy, and John.

Weight Watchers

At the end of February, Michelle and I joined Weight Watchers and began attending weekly meetings. Though we had tried it once—very briefly—a few years ago, we were not ready for it at that time. But now I feel ready, and the results seem to have borne that out so far. From a starting weight of 249.1, I've been able to come down so far to 234.5 at last night's meeting (on the strength of a satisfying 4.7-pound loss for the week), which allowed me to meet Weight Watchers' initial goal of 5% of my body weight. Eventually, I want to get down to the top end of their recommended range for my height—from 144 (at which I think I'd look virtually skeletal) to 174. But getting to 174 will mean a loss of just over 30% of my starting body weight. This will be a challenge, but it's one I'm committed to continuing to work at.

Weight Watchers works on a points system, with different foods getting different numbers of points, and you 'track' your intake daily. Already, due to the weight I've lost, my daily points budget has dropped from the initial 49 to first 45, then 44, and today, following last night's loss, to 43. But you also earn points for activity, and all the bicycle riding I've been doing has helped greatly. For instance, by virtue of Sunday's 2 hour 20 minute ride, I was able to earn 15 points!