A part of taking care of oneself is to take care of our bodies. This has been a challenging mode of function for me the past couple months. Since things didn’t go the way I had planned when landing back into the United States from a blissful yet writing filled three months in Ireland, I was ready to take break and travel around in our van and eat healthy. We landed instead at my parents where old behaviors and habits, I thought had been worked out and healed a long time ago, showed up with a vengeance and took control of me once again. I settled into eating more and eating things that I didn’t usually eat in the first place. You know how it is with Mom cooking up all those goodies and meals you ate as a child. It was too much for me to keep a handle on partly because of the stress of staying at my parents brought. Don’t get me wrong! My parents are the best parents I could have asked for. It just wasn’t something I had intended on doing this summer that being moving in with my mom and dad when I am about ready to turn 50 years old. To top it off, I also brought my boy friend who takes everything is stride and has the patience of a monk. Believe me, I have tested him on this one a few times since we have been here since June. He has witnessed me slipping back into my old behaviors and has continued to be consistent in his patience and love throughout. Luckily I got back into the swing of things. I recognized what I was doing and that is the most important thing we can do for ourselves when faced with slipping back into behavior that no longer is a part of us. Awareness is 80 percent of the solution. Another aspect of this experience was to quit being hard on myself because I was acting out in a way that I thought had been tucked away and never to be acted out again. I had to remind myself I needed to be more gentle with myself at this point because of being in old family dynamics and just to ride with it and continue to make healthy choices. I had to remind myself it was only food and I had a choice over what I put into my mouth. I had to remind myself to take extra care of myself such as an extra walk or pilates class. So that is what I did. It didn’t happen over night though but I didn’t beat myself up over not making the decision right off that bat. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is our journey to becoming more of our healthy selves. It is all in moderation.
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