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Welcome ladies and gentlemen, young and old.  Please fasten your seatbelts, since this time machine you are sitting in is actually un-tested technology. Just to provide you with an idea of how and why this little ride of ours is taking place, Weight Watchers says that sometimes, when you're trying to lose weight, you get a little discouraged with how fast it's coming off (like not…*poof* gone) so what you do is imagine what things would be like in the future after you have achieved your goal and how you would feel when you got there and then lock onto that as a source of motivation to continue losing.  So, now that you know the reason we're using this machine, I'd like to invite you to sit back, relax and think only happy thoughts as we crank this baby up and see what it can do.

*whirring noise, followed by a clunk*

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, please do not unfasten your seatbelts.  While Ted the Technician gets out and tries to find out what that noise was, I'd like you to notice date indicator above my head, which reads Wednesday 18 March 2009.  Now, let's watch and see what happens.

(interesting little farce, right?)

I wake up today and go to take a shower.  As usual, it feels good to be in the shower with all that steam around me and the water rolling down my skin.  Once I finish, I open the shower curtain and take a good look at myself in the mirror.  I remember how, back when I was fat, I use to hate having a mirror right in front of the shower.  Now, however, I wouldn't have it any other way, as I look at my naked body in satisfaction. I feel great, in large part because, at yesterday's Weight Watcher's meeting, I weighed in and the number was 157.  I'm ecstatic!  I never thought that I'd reach that goal and now, looking at myself in the mirror, I feel grateful that I made working out a part of things, too.  I find myself actually twirling in front of the mirror with an actual girlish giggle.  Towelling off, I go to get dressed.  There aren't many clothes in my closet any more because of the fact that I had to replace my wardrobe last month because nothing fit me.  Today, I look into my closet and see my wedding dress.  I was just slightly overweight when I wore that to be married in.  On a whim, I dig it out and put it on…and giggle yet again. It's baggy!  I call my two children in.  My daughter, nearly seven now and already beginning to show the beautiful young lady she will one day become, enters the room and my son, almost two and with no real clue what's going on, toddles in after her.

"What do you think?" I ask my little girl.

"It's big on you, mama." my daughter smiles.

"Mama! Pretty!" crows my delighted son, pointing at me.

"I know," I laugh. Twirling a bit, I lift my son onto my bed and bounce him there a little before putting him down and wandering into the hallway to finger the wedding pictures hanging there.  "I was married in this dress.  I weighed 190 pounds in it."

"Wow, mama!" declares my daughter, "Really?"

Then my husband, (pardon me for taking licenses here, jaklumen) comes up.  He, too, has had to replace his wardrobe.  He recently weighed in at 188 at the gym last week and he's looking better than ever.

"It's a little dusty," he says, brushing my shoulder gently with one hand, "But you still look beautiful in it."

I laugh out loud.  "I look like I'm wearing a big, white potato sack," I smile, "We should get a picture and send it to our friends and family.  They'd love to see that."  Jak quickly gets the digital camera and hands it to my daughter, who takes a picture of the two of us with it. Later today, we'll upload the photo to the computer and post it and a before picture on to Vox for all to see.

A beeping sound is heard from the Palm Z22.  "That's your cue, honey," I say to my daughter.  She smiles, grabs her backpack and her lunch and is out the door in a flash.  "Have fun at school!" I call after her.

Meanwhile, I turn my attention to the housework, which doesn't take long at all.  Lately, I've had more energy than ever, so keeping things clean has become sort of fun.  I even turn on the radio and dance a little while I work: Make the bed, do some laundry (there's not much there) tidy up a little, pop the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher.  Boom!  Done.  All the while, I still manage to keep my eyes on my rambunctious baby boy.  Once it's all done, I pack him up and we go for a walk to the park, where I let him play until he shows signs of being tired.  The walk to and from the park is like nothing for me, now.  I even jog for some of it just because exercising feels so good now.  By the time I get him home, he's fallen asleep in his stroller.  I gently free him and put him in his bed.  Lifting him is nothing to me, now, since I'm so much stronger now than I was before.  He fusses a bit when I tuck him in, but he soon goes to sleep and I now have the house to myself for a while.  With time on my hands, I sit and write on a novel I'm working on.  The time just races by and I don't even realize it until my son wakes up and wants to be fed.

Presently, my daughter comes rushing back in.  School is out.  I'm excited because a bunch of the family are getting together to celebrate all our March birthdays.  We have plans to meet at a local playground called "The Playground of Dreams," which I think is entirely apropos given how I currently look.  I decide to change clothes into black slacks, a white blouse and a lavender pullover sweater, and a pair of loafers.   Once there, we grab our canvas bag of picnic items and set the kids loose.  My daughter immediately shucks off her shoes, as usual, and hands them to me before taking off.  Both Jak's and my family are there.  My mother has a birthday this month, so we invited her and my sister and father to join us. 

Mom is the first one to see me.  She smiles, puts her arms around me and says, "There's my beautiful girl."  Jak's mom looks at me as I walk up and looks surprised, again.  I don't wait for her to say anything.  I'm sure that she'll find the time for it later.  We set up our picnic and all set about socializing.  I spend a lot of time chasing after my son, who wants to run around the "Tot Lot" and play in the sand box.  Who can blame him.  We spend a good two hours at this planned party.  Gifts are given to all birthday people present (oops! a pun!).  Finally, the party is over and I hear my mother-in-law say, "You looked nice today."

"Thanks," I reply, helping my children into the car.

Later, after the kids are in bed, my husband and I share a glorious marital moment (no details. sorry) which is better than it's ever been before simply for the fact that it's that much easier for us to move around now that we're both so much thinner.  Afterward, I feel at peace with myself.  Late that night, while going to the bathroom, I happen to look at myself in the mirror again.  Looking there, I think, This is the
way I've always felt that I actually looked.  This is the real me.  I want to stay like his forever.  Thinking that, I know that I will.

(clink Whirr!!  The sound of an engine starting up.)

Lets have a round of applause for Ted the Technician, ladies and gentlemen. (spontaneous clapping). We'd like to thank you for riding with us in our new time machine.  Please settle in, folks, as the machine returns us to the present and do not unbuckle your seatbelts until time has returned to its normal functionality.  Again, thank you for joining us for A Look into the Future and don't forget to visit the lobby giftshoppe on your way out.