« His name is Peter • Main • Eight Random Things… »

July 8, 2007

Fun plex

Things have been going very well. I’m really busy which always drives me a little crazy, but despite putting in a million hours at work each week my mental crazies have been quite moderate and depression has been kept at bay.

I wish I could say the same for my eating. I’ve been eating a lot and my weight bounced up to 196. That’s huge. I know what caused it and I know what I need to do so I’m not going to complain or make excuses.

With the weight re-gain I’ve noticed the funny anecdotal fat experiences creeping back into my life. Well, maybe not so funny.

I went to the fun plex with my daughter the other night and she insisted we go into the foam frenzy which is basically a cage filled with foam balls and an assortment of ball projecting devices. The cage has three tiers of ramps that line the inner edges so that you can throw or shoot the balls down through the center to any of the tiers or unsuspecting victims on the ground floor. Parts of these tiers are constructed with metal grates and parts of them consist of meshed canvas material.

My daughter, who is usually apprehensive, ran excitedly around the place like a ping pong ball. Anyone under four has to be accompanied by an adult so I had to follow suit. For the most part I didn’t feel as fat as I am. I seemed to have energy and agility, of which I’m sure I’d have more 60 pounds lighter, but I was holding my own.

I did fine until I had to walk across the mesh floor 30 feet off the ground. I felt terrified it wasn’t going to hold. I gripped wrapped my arms, for dear life, around the side railing to be ready in such a way that I’d be able to catch myself and hang if the floor gave way. The alert (or morbidly curious, no pun intended) 16 year old attendant was standing by with his thumb on the walkie-talkie ready to call for a crane. Actually they would probably just herd all the foam balls into a pile below me so I could fall safely. Anyway he was definitely concerned for me because I saw him get pelted in the head with a bunch of balls without even blinking an eye or releasing his stare from my direction. The poor guy was the most popular target for all the spastic brats in the cage.

My motherly instinct kicked in and I let go of my fear so I could catch up with my daughter and stay close enough to prevent her from slithering in between the railings. I also never want her to see me afraid when it truly doesn’t warrant it. I continued to run around the cage a few hundred times until my daughter was completely pooped out. It didn’t take me too long to have confidence in the mesh. I did avoid the parts that were worn out and mended with what seemed to be shoe laces.

As we exited the cage the attendant and I shared a smile and a nod. I laughed and said to him, “heh, I wasn’t sure it was going to hold me, heh”. He sweetly gave me an acknowledging “heh”, but I could sense in his eyes there was a moment where he thought it might not too.

Posted by hopeful @ July 8, 2007 10:28 PM