Good morning, everyone. It’s the morning after Christmas and I’m at my brother and sister-in-law’s home in the Northeast. Spare at least a slightly sympathetic thought for me with my Keys-acclimated blood. It’s 28 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now which is, of course, significantly colder than I’m used to! Thankfully I can bundle up.
I’m having a wonderful week with family and friends. We had a lovely Christmas, although it was not without drama. My younger nephew was only going to be with us for 30 hours, due to his work schedule. His missed his flight up on Tuesday and we scrambled to get him on another flight. Successful, we thought the drama was over. After a great holiday morning, including a delicious early lunch, we took him back to the airport for his return flight. Here’s a hint: If you miss your flight on U.S. Air, they automatically cancel your return flight and don’t tell you. No email. No phone call. He found out when he arrived at the airport and tried to check in. We got him on another flight this morning but, oh, the stress. On the bright side, we had him another night.
I’ve already seen some other family and friends. Today I’m meeting Chrissy (She comments here.) for lunch. Tomorrow, more friends and family. This is how I do Christmas and I couldn’t be happier.
I’m well aware that I’m out of my normal routine, but I’m not stressing about it. I’m not hitting my 10,000 steps a day, but I am getting in some physical activity by walking Aki a couple of times a day. I’m not strictly adhering to low carbs, but I’m not horribly overdoing them either, nor am I overeating. I feel very balanced in body and mind.
In the past, I treated holidays as license to indulge in an eating free-for-all. If anyone disapproved or worried about what and how much I consumed, they kept it to themselves rather than critique on the holidays. Some would call this enabling but it was never anyone else’s responsibility to monitor my eating. It was all up to me. I can remember that I relished the holidays because I felt like I could “eat like a normal person”. To me, this meant eating what I wanted when I wanted without getting hassled for it, or hassling myself. That shows how eating habits have always been a source of great stress and emotional upheaval. It also demonstrates that my concept of “normal” was greatly skewed.
Now my viewpoint is much healthier. It means I can enjoy delicious food in appropriate-for-me quantities. Food is not inherently harmful unless we overindulge. The same can be said of alcohol. Hoovering up a dozen cookies would be a bad thing. Enjoying one or two over tea and conversation is okay.
I like this approach and attitude. It feels healthier, for one thing. For another, it continues to form a good foundation for the future. Managing holiday week eating in a healthy, positive manner is a great indication how far I’ve come and increases my confidence going forward.
Weighty Matters 
What you describe about eating makes a ton of sense. I am trying to hit a balance: I live in a house chock-full of sweets. It goes beyond temptation. And sweets are my issue. At least we’ve stopped buying ice cream, which is my kryptonite. And I have managed to make myself stop having a sweet right after breakfast, because that is step on a very slippery slope.
Your blog inspires me to reach for a healthier life. I’m so glad you feel balanced and healthy in your body and your mind. It seems that day by day, week by week, you develop greater and greater balance, like someone on a paddleboard in the middle of a lake with small wavelets rolling around and past you. You are gaining greater strength in your core (your attitude and beliefs, your habits), which enables you to better withstand those wavelets and even greater, wind-induced waves, while standing balanced on the board of your commitment and chosen habits. (Was that metaphor too tortured? 🙂 )
Anyway, your Christmas week sounds lovely. A belated Merry Christmas to you!
I ate too much yesterday. 😦 Oh well, it was just a blip, right? As long as I don’t make a habit of it, I think that one day of bad eating isn’t the end of the world.
That’s crazy about the missed flight! At least it meant one extra day with your nephew and not one less day!