Back on Track

This is going to be a short post because I am in the middle of what teachers refer to as the crazy season: report cards and year-end paperwork out the wazoo, and all sorts of other loose ends to tie or clean before closing the doors for the much-anticipated summer holidays is what our days are made of for the next four weeks.

I've been looking forward to this summer for a few reasons: I get to spend July finishing up my fourth novel under the warm sun on the back deck, and August flying off to Europe with my husband for three and half weeks of seeing friends and family, catching a few gigs, and playing tourist in some of my favourite cities. For all of my time off, I also get to spend time with friends and family I adore, just relaxing and having much-needed catchups and great moments of fun with them all.

What a realized last night in the middle of a birthday dinner celebration was that I've allowed myself to lose focus in the last few weeks because of the runaway-out-of-control train that is the end of every school year. While I've been fairly good at maintaining my exercise routine and even checked myself into physio for nagging injuries so that I can continue to move well, I have not concentrated hard enough on keeping to those healthy eating and drinking habits I developed over the last eight months. I feel fortunate in that I have not gained any weight, and have in fact lost a couple of pounds this month, but it is a discouraging realization to have worked so hard since September only to be at risk throwing it all away in the next ten weeks.

Last week, I toyed with the idea of adopting a goal of weight maintenance for the summer, which is for me the busiest, most enjoyable part of my social calendar. As the weather has improved and patio season has begun in earnest, the last few weekends have been filled with fantastic evenings out with dear friends, and I wouldn't change that for anything. However... having awoken this morning with a headache that was either weather-induced or brought about by too many sangrias the previous evening, I've changed my tune. It's a slippery slope back upwards on the scale to give up and lose focus for the next three months, perhaps because it will likely also be impossible to control things once we land in Europe.

A couple of friends laughed today when I boldly stated that my drinking was being put on hold again, but that reaction was a welcome one because it only makes me more determined and ready to dig in my heels deeper. I'm annoyed at myself for letting things go a bit, so it's time to find that stubborn streak that set me on this journey and put it back to work. If you are on my social radar the next few weeks, please rest assured that I am just as fun sober and that I don't get hangry.