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Introduction Text I'm Alison. Over the last couple years, my view of the world has changed dramatically. In October 2014, at five months pregnant, I left my corporate bank job for an office manager position at a labor union. With that one move, I secured a more solid financial future for myself and my family but I also secured an ability to be liberated from the confines of work-life. In February 2015, I gave birth to my son. And if I ever thought my life was full before, boy did having Dominic change things. In October 2015, I helped found an organization called Carry the Future. We are a volunteer-run organization focused on hand delivering humanitarian aid to refugee families on their journeys to safety and asylum. With my son and with all the refugee families I am helping, I feel like I have the world in my hands. I feel like my presence on our planet makes a difference – to my son, to my husband, to our families, and to our refugee families. Yet, with all of that resting in the palms of my hands, I somehow still feel as if the whole world is just within reach – that I’m missing so much still, that I have far more to collect, but that I can collect it. I look to my son sometimes and think I need to be more for him – for me. And the moment those thoughts begin to roll in, I recollect the times in my life when I was active, healthier, and more connected with the earth. I do desire that still. And because I’ve had those things before, I know I am capable. I want to show my son the beautiful, peaceful, natural connection we have to the outdoors, to the world around us, and to other people. I want to show him how healthiness makes for happiness, how activity means adventure. And more than just showing him these secrets, I want to find them again for myself. This time it’s not about the gym. It’s not just about the pounds. And it’s not just about the calories. It’s about the lifestyle. It’s about living fully and connected to others. It’s about noticing the different shades of green in the trees and about savoring flavors and freshness and it’s about having deeper connections with other human beings. It’s about feeling at a deeper level than flesh – about being free and happy and healthy and adventurous. Weekdays: 10 – 15 minutes of outdoor activity for just me and Dominic after work. Explore, play ball, go for a walk, ride a bike, water the plants, rake the leaves, play Frisbee, bird-watch. M-W-F or T-H-S – designated alone time; may be active, may be relaxing - it's for mind-clearing. Saturday – activity day with Dominic. Sunday – adventure time with my family. In an effort to connect our actions to our bodies, and our bodies to our actions (meaning the food we eat is fuel and the fuel we have enables us to be active), I plan to eliminate fast food as options, use more fresh ingredients at home, and eat more produce and less starch. And also to curb my snack habit just the slightest bit. Part of being more connected to the earth and to other human beings is to understand the consequences of behaviors. I feel that enacting the change of lifestyle I’ve laid out for myself will bring about changes in my physical appearance. Probably, hopefully I will find myself edging back into a more physically fit frame. And while that is not the primary objective, I will be very excited to see that happen. Start weight: 252.4 Ideal weight: 195.0 I think reminding myself of the connectedness of our bodies and our behaviors and of our actions and our attitudes, will help result in positive changes for my own body as well as a positive example for my son.

- spend more time outdoors. - Inspire my son and my husband. - reconnect with the earth and the energy of the outdoors. - be healthy enough to have a regularly active lifestyle with my husband and son.

- eat healthier (raw fruits and veggies, no fast food, limit starches) - get back to being physically active to promote mental well-being and healthiness as much as physical. Use this time to clear my head or work out any thoughts or obstacles I have been facing. - play outdoors with Dominic. - journal, journal, journal. Short, long, detailed or not. Journal something multiple times a week.

My name is Alison. My son is Dominic. My husband is JM.



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