A Different Kind Of Cleanse…

So far, 2012 has not been kind.  On the 4th of January, I was involved in a car accident that left me sore and stressed over the possibly permanent loss of our primary commuter car.  It was over a week later that we finally found out that the at-fault insurance company was going to cover the repairs instead of having it written off.

The following Monday, I went in for my first-ever colonoscopy – oh, joy of joys!  For those that have experienced this, you know what I mean, and for those that have not; the prep is WAY worse than the procedure itself.  Anyway, the pure liquid diet required for the day preceding the procedure threw my eating plans out of whack, and I was totally starving afterward, and went off the deep end trying to make up for it.

Then, on the 16th, I went in to have a tooth extracted – this sort of limited my dining options for a few days, and, again, my brain took over, and told me I needed to make up for it by eating not-so-well for the next week.

Finally, my husband’s birthday was this week, so we went out for dinner – once again, the dining choice was less than optimal.

Of course, there was also a significant amount of stress involved in these events – I’m sure that this fueled the fire of my lack of food control.  I’ve identified that I am prone to unhealthy eating as a ‘reward’ for the unhappy events in my life.

Anyway, a couple of months ago, I made plans to attend a geocaching event over in Reno.  The event was held this last Saturday night, and was quite enjoyable.  We headed out Friday morning, having taken the day off work, and got to our hotel at about 3 pm.  We spent that evening just vegging out and relaxing.  Saturday, before the event, we took Harley out to a dog park so that she could get in some off-leash time.  She didn’t seem too interested, so we decided to try for a couple of nearby geocaches.  This didn’t last too long, though, as it was quite cold and windy in advance of the arrival of the first significant winter storm of the year.  Still, it was a nice afternoon – we didn’t have anything scheduled or planned, and we just played it by ear.  I went to the event that evening, and sampled many tasty dishes at the event, which was a potluck, without worrying about the results.  Sunday morning, we slept as late as checkout time allowed, and made it over the Donner Summit just in time to beat the chain controls.

All in all, it was a quite enjoyable weekend, and I now realize that this is the first REAL vacation that we’ve taken since our first anniversary – every trip since then has involved either work or parents (which are typically NOT real vacations, right?).  We’ve taken lazy weekends at home from time to time, but being at home always raises that thought that there is something that needs doing, particularly when you’re in the process of remodeling.  It was really good to get away from everything, including the house, for a little while, even if just for a couple of days

I finished off the weekend with a really nice session with my Sunday ladies’ meditation group, and then a nice soak in the bath.  At this point, I’m feeling more relaxed, happy, and positive than I have since New Years’ Day.

I have now realized the importance of REAL downtime – where you’re not looking around worrying about what you SHOULD be doing.  Being in an environment where you don’t HAVE to do anything is truly cleansing – good for my emotional and mental health, and, in the long run, for my physical health.  I’m going to do my best to ensure this happens more often than every five years.