Each Christmas would come and with it I would get larger. It's about the only place where getting fatter was an advantage in this life. This authentic Santa didn't need a pillow and surprised more than one cocky kid who thought my tummy was fake until he hit it.
I was jolly and big yet I continued to ignore the obvious.Then come one Christmas when it all changed. My suit had been made by my Mum. Specially made to my design. Big pockets to hold magic tricks and a roomy fit that would give me growth. That Christmas I came to the end of the line. I had used the same boots for years and years. I've had them resoled many times. That year however my boots no longer would fit. The zips would only go up half way! My ankles and calves were getting too big! My other shock was the discovery that my specially made roomy pants no longer could cover my belly. I had to hang my belly over the pants. Fortunately my top is super generous in size and length and I was able to cover my gut from the kids. I could no longer ignore the obvious.
If I didn't do something about my weight I wouldn't be able to wear the suit the year after. What did I do? Short answer is nothing. The long answer is that I needed a year to get my head in the right place before I began to lose weight. The next Christmas I surrendered to the forces to be. I got my Mum to add extra panels to the suit so that I could wear it. It looked dreadful. The panels didn't match the rest of the suit and I felt I had sold out. Worse was to come. I couldn't even zip up my boots half way that year. I had to wear the boots inside the pants...that is not how Santa should look.
Now when you get so fat that you have to let out your Santa suit; you know that you are far too fat! Time for change.
The first of January 2011 I started to change my life. By Christmas 2011, I had got rid of the lion's share of the 87kilos I had to lose. My life had indeed changed for the better. I had my Mum remove the ugly panels of the Santa suit (indeed she had to let the suit in!). The first day I had to wear the suit was a day of triumph. The suit looked fine but Santa needed a pillow to look authentic. The real joy was putting on the boots. Not only was I able to do the zips up all the way but surprisingly they were loose and roomy! A few people did comment that they thought Santa had lost a bit of weight...they didn't know the half of it!
We can go through life know that we need to change but choosing not to. It is only when we are suddenly confronted with reality that we stand up and really take it on board. The Santa suit was the straw on the camel's back that I could no longer ignore. I had to change and I did.
...And that's how Santa saved my life.
Kim
