A Tribute to "LovIN My Tummy"

I've already done my daily post, but after reading Sarah's blog at "LovIN My Tummy", I was led to post again.

Tonight was Sarah's last post on her blog. Due to some issues with estranged family members accessing her blog and causing her a TON of heartache and stress, she had to end her blog. Much to my surprise, I cried my eyes out!

That response got me to thinking about how important the blogging community has become to me over these last few weeks. It's almost like a little family...maybe an extended one, if you already have a great family and tons of support. Maybe for some it's the only "family" they have. And maybe for some, it's just that feeling of comraderie....of being involved in something that maybe only you understand within your little circle. Maybe your significant other just doesn't get it because they don't have the same issues as you or share all the same hobbies. Maybe all of your friends and family members are skinny, if you've got a weight loss blog. Maybe the community you belong to shares the same passions you do. They are all important, and somehow, they get weaved into the fabric of our lives.

Sarah's blog isn't about weight loss. I started reading her blog MONTHS ago...long before I even considered doing a blog of my own. And to tell you the truth, I can't even remember how I stumbled upon it...but I'm so glad I did.

When I first started reading her daily posts, she was very much into fitness, training every day for marathons and the such, eating REALLY healthy foods, and was reading up on becoming a vegetarian. Over these last few months, she did end up going the no-meat route, refining it even more to a raw foods diet that she is thoroughly enjoying. She also had a back injury with her running, something that was a passion of hers, and had to have back surgery, which ensued in some depression (some of it maybe due to the medication she had to take) and the realization that she would never be able to run again in the capacity that she so very much desired.

Because Sarah is such a positive person, she drug herself out of the depression and directed her attentions to other things that she enjoys. Sarah loves to write, and was presented with the opportunity to write for a site called http://www.kidglue.com/, where she posts articles 5x/week. I've read her articles, and if you have children, I would encourage you to visit the site. She never disappoints. She would love to expand her writing with other avenues as well, and I certainly hope she's able to accomplish that. She has quite the talent.

Sarah has a very supportive husband named Chris, as well as 2 unbelievably adorable daughters, named Gracie and Livy. Her daily posts were full of funny quips, her razor wit, the occasional inappropriate comment that never failed to make me smile, but most importantly...it was REAL. Sure, her family looks perfect in most of the pics....but she never failed to include the ones with her kids picking their noses and throwing temper tantrums, telling us about her pain pill daze after the surgery and being afraid that the kids would end up loving Chris more than her because he was doing such an awesome job taking care of them, and letting us know that sometimes she was just so busy with life that she hadn't washed her hair in 4 days. Sarah is awesome. :)

Of all the things I really admire and love about Sarah, the top of the list has to be how she's raising her children. I don't have any kids of my own, but due to being overweight most of my life, and now obese, the healthy foods that she's raising her kids on really strikes a chord with me. I remember reading in one of her posts that her kids don't eat things like chicken nuggets and french fries because they just don't like them....but give them hummus and they think it's Christmas morning. What a fantastic upbringing in the way of food.

Now, Sarah still lets her kids eat "kid stuff", like ice cream, and I'm pretty sure I saw a pic of Livy shoveling down some mac 'n' cheese, lol. But she makes the healthy foods available to her children. She's leading by example....the kids want what Momma's having....and I commend her for that. I'm glad that these two girls will most likely not have the food/body issues that I've had because they're learning at a very young age what's healthy. Kudos to Sarah for being such an amazing example to her children.

I'm going to miss my friend. We live on opposite sides of the country, and will most likely never meet in person, but being able to read about her daily life with her family, along with exchanging a few emails with her, has made her feel like a friend to me. I wish her the very best, and for all of you following my blog, thank you for the continued support and encouragement you offer me every day. You're appreciated more than you know. :)