By: Maureen O’Haren, O’Haren Government Relations. Contact: maureen@oharen.com

“Svelte self” Cummings in dress she wore to her son’s wedding

Lesley Cummings isn’t someone most Capitol staffers would recognize. She’s what we call an old hand, someone whose Capitol career began at the Legislative Analyst’s office in 1977, before most of today’s staffers were born, and ended in 2012.

But if Cummings didn’t still have the face of determination that her friends well know, not even they would recognize her new, svelte self. Cummings is now 60 pounds slimmer and controlling her Type 2 diabetes, which she ignored for years. She’s walking, going to the gym, taking yoga, doing meditation and sticking to a low-carb diet.

“Life is slowly making me do everything I don’t like,” Cummings said. “I don’t really like it and would rather be working on a something distracting.” But she knows she’s now on the right track.

Cummings spent her entire adult life distracting herself with long hours at work, bouncing around from the Capitol to several departments and back, including the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, or “Mister MIB,” as it was called. In 2001, she found herself at MRMIB for good, ultimately as its executive director. She oversaw the Healthy Families Program for low income children, Access for Infants and Mothers, and the managed risk program for the medically uninsurable under MRMIB for eight and a half years.

But by 2010, Cummings saw the future and it wasn’t with MRMIB. “I was toasted,” she admitted. Though she had worked to protect Healthy Families children from waiting lists, by 2013 she was watching the dismantling of the program as the 900,000 HFP children were absorbed into Medi-Cal and the other two programs were also absorbed by either Medi-Cal or Covered California.

Cummings retired, but that was easier said than done. Without the distraction of work, retirement felt like the world had left her behind. Cummings tried consulting. Then her mother became ill and Cummings moved her to an independent living center in Sacramento. Taking care of her mother for two intense years replaced taking care of the state’s children and uninsured.

Then, two years ago, her mother died. A very close friend died the following March. “That just wrecked me,” she said. She regained 60 pounds she’d lost.

But then she started caring for herself. She and got back on track with exercise, meditation and diet. Through meditation, she got in touch with the self that she had long ignored. “I discern things I didn’t before. I’m more connected and aware,” Cummings explains.

Now her blood sugars are coming down. She is sleeping better. And she has company — a dog named Max, given to her by her niece. Max, a Golden Doodle, rescued her in his own way.

Cummings hasn’t traveled much, with the exception of two cruises, one with her mother and another with an aunt. But she is taking a course on sound studio engineering at Sacramento City College and enjoying it immensely. Cummings likes to sing, and is looking for a singing gig — maybe a chorus or band. She’s exploring Buddhism and hoping to do volunteer work.

“I want to be part of a team,” Cummings says. “I’m an extrovert, so I want to do something with other people. I’m looking for something that fits, but just haven’t found it yet.”  She has, however, found the Lesley that was buried under piles of work and 60 extra pounds. She’ll find the volunteer spot soon, too.