Today, I cooked dinner for 2.5 hours. I made chicken curry, lentils, cauliflower with peas, rice, and chapatis (freshly made Indian bread).. And I got to eat.....none of it. Hello Protein shake! Long time no see. Four hours to be exact.

I'm spoiled. Since my husband and I got sleeved together, and since my 13-year old is easy to fix meals for, I haven't had to worry with fixing large meals for my family. Today with my dad visiting from India I cooked a proper meal.

It's not even like I was hungry for it. It's just the PRINCIPLE of it!

So I'm done whining but I will say....all those men and women who have been cooking for whole families while on pre-ops and post-op liquids?

I salute you! You are models of giving and selflessness!

I am so excited and so ready!!!!

I am so excited and so ready!!!!

I bet! We're really lucky to live in a time and place where this is possible aren't we? I hope we never lose sight of that.

I combine trips to my surgeon and Trader Joe's they are both 120 miles away and 2.5 hours each way (it is a very long and curvy road)! I don't buy anywhere near as much as I did prior to surgery, but there are still healthy, protein rich foods you can get at Trader Joe's. I miss not having one 5 minutes away!

I feel very grateful to have been given this second chance. And good luck on your Monday surgery. I'm 18 days post op today and feeling pretty good. I am also one of those people who has family that I have to cook for but I figured out that if I cook stuff I don't like then it's not so bad. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) for my husband everything he's eaten for the past two weeks, including breakfast, has had onions and green peppers in it.