I�ve lost a part of me. Under some circumstances this situation would be sad but I�m celebrating. Exercise is paying off, even if the first dance class of the season has me feeling pain in muscles I forgot I had. I�m even back to hooking my bra on the middle hook.

Not all of this exercising is about losing a few pounds. Much of it is about having enough energy and feeling better. Mr. Philately loves walking and I like to be able to keep up with him most of the time. I admit I�d love to get down to pre-Day-Hay weight but I�m not dieting. I�m just exercising very regularly. As for eating, I�m just checking with myself whether I really want to eat whatever it is before I put it in my mouth.

The new me has thrown poor Mr. Philately into Spousal Purgatory. He fears that anything he says could throw him into Spousal Hell. He knows not saying anything will throw him into Spousal Hell. He�s not sure whether a mis-step will cause him to end in fire or ice but he�d really rather not find out. He knows I�m very capable of both. (Yes, I know that the books say that one is supposed to be able to trust one�s spouse but I�ve always thought there was a place for a little fear in a good relationship.)

Most husbands are vulnerable in such circumstances but Mr. Philately is especially vulnerable. He�s tall and skinny. He�s a junk-food vegetarian and he doesn�t exercise enough but he�s still tall and skinny. He eats pretty much what he wants, including cake rolls, and he�s still tall and skinny. (The tall part may be irrelevant. I don�t really expect him to get much shorter.) But I�m not jealous or anything�at least not much.

So far, though, Mr. Philately is dancing the Husband Waltz very suavely. He�s commenting on the increased energy that I have and the progress I�m making toward my goals. The poor man is afraid that if he does more than suggest that I look nicer that he�ll live to regret it if my weight creeps up again. So, for the moment, he�s saying such romantic things as �I can see the increased muscle tone in your legs in particular� and �I see that leotard fits very well again.� Luckily for him, I�m not a romantic so I�ll appreciate the sentiment and move on.

Yes, I�ve lost a part of me. Now that the heat has broken, I can go back to walking outside. So I�ll go walk and watch Mr. Philately dance and keep working�and hope to lose a little more.

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