A Fat Girl's Guide to Romance

I can remember a time, when I was young, being very desperate to find love. I seemed to attract rejects. The thin beautiful girls got the football players and popular guys. I didn't realize until much later that they were just as desperate as I, only they were "putting out" and had reputations as being "easy". I was a good girl. It wasn't because I was fat that I didn't have many dates. I had oodles of friends. It was because I was a good girl that I didn't have many dates.
My best friend in high school was sort of a "fruitcake". He was like having a best girlfriend. We were friends since grade school. He did ask me to marry him at one point, but he didn't like children, and I wanted a family. So we went our separate ways after high school.
My parents were very strict. I always seemed to gravitate to older men, so that gave my parents some headaches. My first steady boyfriend was 19 to my 16. That ended when I went off to college. Older men were more mature and able to look beyond the fat to the nice, pretty (yes, I said pretty) girl underneath. With size 6 being the norm, they liked the curves and voluptuousness of a size 16. I started to feel sexy, smart, and independent.
I was always a romance junky. I love romance novels to this day. I love romantic songs, too. It all started with Disney. Snow White's song "Someday My Prince Will Come"; Sleeping Beauty's "Once Upon A Dream"; and my all time favorite, Cinderella"s "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" and "So This Is Love". How can a little girl not have fanciful notions of growing up and marrying her prince.
I have been lucky in love, but not always in romance. There is a difference. Reality has hit me in the face many times, but I'm still a romantic, emotional person. I have never given up hope and have always kept an open mind and heart.
I continue to read romance novels. Of course now they are quite lusty and grown up. I love the regency England time period. Some of my favorite authors include: Johanna Lindsay, Mary Balogh, Celeste Bradley, Lisa Kleypas, and Stephanie Laurens. Reading is a quiet, calm escape that allows you to continue dreaming of that prince, or duke, or viscount. And, you never get too old to dream.

A Fat Girl's Guide to Having Pets:

I love animals. If my father would have allowed and encouraged it, I would have become a vet instead of a nurse. When I was 5 I had a collie/setter mix named Lassie, of course. My parents gave her away when we were moving to our new house because my mother didn't want a dog. When I was 12 my cousin and I took up horseback riding and would go to the ranch every Saturday.
My son was 3 when we got our first family dog, Nikki, a collie/lab mix. My daughter wanted a kitten when she was in first grade, so we adopted Sheba from the shelter. About six years later, a patient who was dying of cancer begged me to take her cat, Samson. He was a lovable, huge, Maine Coon cat. About a year later, Alex found a stray kitten on a very cold night. We named him Rocky. We also had several goldfish that Justina always managed to win at carnivals. And we must not forget the adopted cockatiel, Thomas. I certainly made sure my children had the menagerie I was denied. And we all lived happily, crazily, ever after.
The children grew up and left, my husband, Jack, died, and the animals got old and eventually passed on, also. I hadn't met Charlie yet, so off I went one day to the Humane Society and adopted a 5 year old Bichon named Lucky.
Pet ownership is a big commitment, but they give you unconditional love and loyalty. I am a big fan of Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer. Dogs need exercise, discipline, and affection in that order. I am now a pack leader with 2 more adoptees, Stan, a Westie, and Hampton, a Llaso Apso. I've had all 3 for several years now. When Charlie came into the picture, it was "love me, love my dogs".
I keep saying I need a cat, but Lucky and Stan would never welcome a cat into the house. It's just as well. The feeding, grooming, and veterinary care for 3 dogs is quite a lot.
Pets bring us joy and are actually good for our health. The dogs make me get fresh air and exercise. Petting a dog or cat can even lower your blood pressure.
So whether you're a cat person, a dog person, a bird person, or love all animals and have a menagerie, enjoy your pets, love them, take care of them, and live happily, crazily, ever after.