I have lost four long posts in the past few days, so I have decided to try a series of small ones.

Kathleen, I am praying for you and your son. Your recovery is amazing. I know how you feel about your son and the new girlfriend - happy that he is happy, but so, so, so worried that this girl will break up with him and things will be worse than ever. All you can do is support him, advocate for him with his doctors/meds and hope for the best.
Believe me, I know this sounds easier than it is.

Holly, this past winter is the best I remember on the Cape. Unfortunately, because of something similar to PTSD from the previous nightmare of a winter, I really did not appreciate it. I have always enjoyed the first few snowfalls of the season. This year the first flakes put me into panic mode. I was petrified it would be a case of two horrible ones in a row. When is your summer job starting?

Fi, I hope you are okay. If you are able, please drop a short note to let us know how you are. I am thinking of you; you have always been an inspiration to me - how you ever stopped those (*&^%) cookies is beyond me at this point with my sugar issue.

Lisa, time helps ease the sorrow of losing your mother. Mine has been gone for 6+ years, and I still want to ask her a question, or tell her I saw someone she knows, or something similar, every now and then. But the feeling is quite different - not raw like the first year.

On procrastination - I was one of the worst procrastinators possible.

I now do a few things routinely to help. I meet a group of people at the YMCA five mornings a week, and I walk the beach with neighbors early Sunday mornings. This accountability forces me to exercise regularly. When I get home from exercising, I set my timer for 30 minutes. I put my exercise clothes and towel in the laundry room and start a load of wash; I make my bed; load the dishwasher from breakfast; set the coffee pot (still prefer drip to pods;) do correspondence- answer emails, write out greeting cards, phone to make appointments, whatever. After the timer goes off, I bring the trash into the garage and walk the dog. That is such a routine that it is like a game of Beat The Clock that I play with myself. When I get back from the walk, I put the wash in the dryer or my indoor drying racks. This routine gives me a great sense of accomplishment.

Another thing I do is keep lists. I have a pad of paper and pen in my kitchen, on my desk, on my nightstand and in my car cup holder. As soon as I think of something I need to do I write it down. That relieves the anxiety of worrying whether I will remember to do it or not. Once it is on one of my lists, I know I will get to it. Today's list was email recipe to neighbor, buy cream of tartar, postage stamps, birthday card for nieces. Once I do something on a list, I cross it off. About once a week I combine all the lists onto the one on my desk and start new ones. This might sound OCD, but it works for me.

My weight is 156. I cannot seem to stay away from chocolate and ice cream. I start every day thinking I will be fine, and I am not. On Thursday I threw out all remaining Easter candy; on Friday I ate the mini chocolate chips I had leftover from a dessert recipe that I was planning to use in cookies later this Spring. Today I am hoping to make it through with no sugar. Not only do I eat too much, but sugar seems to trigger my appetite so I eat more of everything. It is a battle that I seem to be losing. I was down to 147 last Fall, so I am disgusted with myself, to put it mildly. I am fighting tears when I struggle into my clothes. I cannot imagine how bad it would be if not for the exercise.