That Guy

Tom's had a good summer. Back in May, he decided he needed to lose a few pounds and like most guys (at least the ones I know) just, well, did it. He stopped using creamer in his coffee, he changed his diet to almost vegan and lost weight. I don't think he ever really struggled. Or perhaps he's just not as whiny and needy of reassurance as I am and so when he struggled he kept it to himself.

Whatever. He's lost 30 pounds over the last four months. Yes, I'm way jealous even though I've lost 21.5 pounds over the last six weeks. And this is because while he's at his goal weight (or perhaps under it, which...grrrr!) I'm nowhere near my goal weight even being down 21.5 pounds (how many times can I slip that in, I wonder?)

Anyway, this isn't about the fact that I've lost 21.5 pounds (HA! I did it again.) it's about the fact that he's done very well for himself his summer. Not only did he change his diet drastically, he's been working out. And when he's not pedaling backward on the stationary bike (it works muscles differently, so he says) he's down in the basement lifting weights. And when he's not doing either of those things, he's in the yard, doing physical work, such as fixing the roof, sealing the deck, mowing, weeding the garden...yeah, you get the picture.

And so, with all this outside work and with the fact that he's pretty happy with his physique, he's been doing more and more of said work shirtless. I know. But yes, he does look good enough for it to not be embarrassing to have him be that guy who does yard work without a shirt.

It was a very warm summer. With lots of sun.

I'm sure you can see where this is going. Tom's of dark German heritage. He tans easily. Just a few hours in the sun and he's darker, bronzer. It's just mean that he shows off that ability in front of his paler than pale wife who is of Scottish heritage, that of the pale blonds who don't tan even in tanning beds. I step into the sun, burn bright red and then, a few days/weeks later, I'm pale again. It never actually turns a lovely brown. I should probably take out stock in one of the sun screen manufacturers.

Yesterday, Alyssa got off the bus and said that one of her bus-mates told her that each time she (the bus-mate) and her mom pass our house, the mom says, "Why is that guy so tan?"

When she told us that, Tom and I both laughed hard enough to bring tears to our eyes. Maybe you had to be there, but it was really funny at the time. He's that tan and that buff. And yes, to those of us here in the midwest, that kind of tan just doesn't usually happen just by being outside doing yard work. This is the kind of tan one has to work at. At least, some people have to work at.

Not our guy. Nope, he's That Guy.