My daughter lost fifty pounds. I think her teenage growth spurt had something to do with it. Just as she decided to change her eating habits and work out six days a week, her body decided to grow three inches. So, now she's taller, slimmer, and better looking than me.

Her weight loss spurred me to cut back on my eating and see if I could look better. It's not as easy to loose weight when you're older, fighting hormone changes and natures redirection of fat stores.

My husband said, "You won't get too thin on me will you?" I wanted to say, "Fat chance of that every happening." But I didn't.

I was wishing my body could suddenly take on a growth spurt like my daughter, that I'd gain a few inches in height making it look like I'd lost more weight than I have. And then I realized nature is playing in my favor, only in a different way

My husband asked, "If you're not loosing much weight," (the scales say only a few pounds), "then why are you looking so different?"

"It's going to gravity," I said.

"To gravity?"

"Yes, everything I own is going back to the earth, you know, dust to dust, from dust you came and to dust you will go again."

"Oh," he said. He looked puzzled.

"Okay, I know, make it simple. Everything I own is drifting downward. My waist is smaller because the fat that used to settle there has slipped down to my hips. And have you seen my knees lately? The fat stores from my thighs have settled there. Everything is moving downward. My breasts…well, you haven't noticed them sagging because I use a wire bra to keep them in place, but without it…oh boy."

"I get the picture," he said. He left me alone in my physical slide.

I like what Celine Dion once said, "Everything goes down but the spirit goes up." It's true, everything in me is sagging, but boy my spirit is soaring, and I feel good at least that something in me is improving and making it's way upward.

During the past few weeks I've decided to feed my spirit, and forget about the losing battle of

weight control. Well, not completely, but I think you know what I mean.

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P.S. I sent this Monday Moments to my oldest daughter for proofreading and comment. Here are her suggestions:

The Monday Moment is great, however I think you should add this note at the bottom:

"Even though your body changes through time... appreciate what you've got... and work with it!" And, I think the following would be a nice touch:

"My oldest daughter has never had to eat healthy and exercise very much because she was always naturally thin and beautiful!" See what you can do!

Signed, J.O. (your number one daughter!)