FirenzaMonet

Man. I went through all of my old posts on this blog and cried and laughed. I reminisced, I was proud, I was sad, I cringed some. So many emotions sifting through these posts from 6-7 years ago. Overall, I’m proud of 27/28 year old Firenza and even more proud to see where she led 34 year old me.

And even as I have to zoom in to type this (my eyes are getting so much worse in my 30s…it’s wild), I still feel very connected to the 20s Firenza.

So, just to catch y’all up:

I been working. I’ve been in the ed tech field for about 7 years now. I worked my way up to Director - which was a really interesting reflection as I read 28 year old me write about not ever being promoted at work. I love my job. I love the people I work with and I am proud of where I am in my career.

I loc’d my hair. Now the OG followers know me as The Girl w/Big Hair and if you would have asked the old me if I would ever loc my hair, I’d probably say no. But here I am, 1 year and 3 months into this loc journey and lovin’ it!

I bought a house. This was never something I thought I’d ever be able to do. I used to jokingly say to people “I already have a house, it’s called student loans.” So I say to any one wanting to buy and not thinking that they can, if I can do it, I promise you, you can too.

Still surreal that this actually happened but I was so happy this day!

I grew my little family. No, I don’t have kids yet, lol. I got a puppy last year. Her name is KeKe and she’s my girl. Ritz, my 10-year old Shihtzu, is still around although a bit older, and more surly and, unfortunately, blind now. We’re just living our best lives in our new home.

KeKe snoozing where she ain’t ‘sposed to be snoozing…

I found an amazing man. April 2021 was euphoric and so were the four months that followed it.

I went through a break up. October 2021 was a dark, dark time. The holidays are a terrible time to experience a break up. I had to nurse myself through some pretty traumatic stuff. But I did. And I’m better. Shout out to my tribe who picked up the pieces and held them while I tried to put myself back together.

Which leads me to my final update and the reason I’m resurrecting this blog:

I’m having bariatric surgery. Whew. It’s wild even typing those words out. I remember starting to look into it back when I was blogging here heavy. But, candidly, I was a bit intimidated by what it took to actually start the process. The insurance companies aren’t always forthcoming with information, finding a surgeon you trust is hard, and all of the opinions on the internet about weight loss surgery can be daunting.

Let me say, there is nothing to be ashamed about if you want, are planning to get, or have had bariatric surgery.

Alright, now that that’s out of the way, I plan to blog about my experience. I am about 4 weeks away from surgery and have already started the prep with my diet. Here, I plan to talk about what led me here and all of the requirements my insurance has, how I found my surgeon (spoiler alert: it was a recommendation), and what the journey from here looks like. If you are someone who is going through the process or looking to have the surgery and want a real and honest experience to follow - stay tuned!

-F