I’m happy to announce that I’ve finally busted through a four-month plateau — I’m now 119.2 pounds down.

I can’t begin to describe the mental boost I get from just being able to say I’m finally making downward progress, again. I’ve learned to value every single ounce that leaves my body a little healthier, a little lighter, a little thinner, a little stronger.

King Kong (that’s the dog’s name, honest!) weighs 119 pounds.

While the world certainly won’t change from the loss of an ounce, a pound, or even ten pounds (or a hundred!), change more often happens in small increments than large leaps. Look at a child every day, and they’ll look the same. Look at a child with a year’s perspective, and everything has changed.

My daughter’s wedding was a year ago this past Monday, and there were plenty of photos taken at the event. I saw them again on social media — and even though it seems like that was just yesterday, I look at those photos and I’m surprised to realize that I’ve taken a lot of big steps, just since then.

I went out on the town after the wedding; there’s a river market area with lots of restaurants and bars. In order for me to go, I had to ride in a portable wheelchair, which has been with me for the last couple of years. It was my way to get out and be able to be along for extended walks and not hold other people back. I also had my folding cane along, and relied on it.

Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I used either one. That occasion may possibly have been the last time I used the wheelchair; it’s been sitting in a side room for a while. The cane went along with me on camp-outs as a just in case thing, but I haven’t used it. In fact, it stays in a travel bag for emergencies, now — which haven’t happened.

In the meantime, I’ve been down to the same river market area a few different times, and have gotten around just fine; no wheelchair, no cane. Yes, I still have to plan my trips, to a point. Yes, I still deal with joint pain if I overuse my knees. But with each passing day, my world grows closer to being what everyone else considers normal.

My world has grown. My life used to be a pinpoint, unable to do much at all without some sort of assistance, a lot of planning, the assumption of a great deal of pain. I barely left the house, because short trips like shopping for groceries were too far beyond my pain threshold to manage; I only left when I absolutely had to.

Each time I cross another milestone, though, the perimeters of my world expand. I’m capable of tasks I still wouldn’t take on even a year ago.

Where will I be, a year from now? I’m struck with awe each time that circle widens a little more, allowing me the chance to get out and live, experience, enjoy, breathe, dance.

I can’t stop that feeling. And I won’t. World, here I come!