bodacious . . .

I love that word . . . love how it rolls off the tongue. Dictionary.com defines it as:

adjective South Midland and Southern U.S.
1. thorough; blatant; unmistakable: a bodacious gossip.
2. remarkable; outstanding: a bodacious story.
3. audacious; bold or brazen.

I have a friend who lives in Mississippi . . . met her on line years ago . . . have never met her in person but I don't need to, to know that she is indeed unmistakable . . . outstanding, and in her own way boldly audacious. Her humor is amazing . . . she is witty and bright with instant come backs . . . . She could have given Erma Bombeck a run for her money. She is in a word . . . bodacious!

Email and IMing are two of the world's greatest equalizers in my humble opinion. You learn to appreciate someone for other than looks. Physical attributes are indeed quite secondary after all. But I do know that she has been uncomfortable with her weight. So, she went out and did something about it. Lost 84.5 pounds and counting AND in the process went from sedentary to gearing up for a 60 mile, three day walk for charity this fall. She is now walking up to 10 miles a day. Yes, folks you heard that right. TEN miles. Now THAT is Bodacious!!

So the other day, tucked in amongst some other shots of her trip to Italy, was one of the very first photographs of her I had ever seen . . . other than as a tiny head in a crowd.

Kelli, I have no idea who you see in the mirror each morning. The woman I see is stunning: bold, beautiful and bodacious. Girl friend go forth with pride. (Go get that sucker! He'll never know what hit him. Oh, and p.s. don't forget to report back!)