On Vacation

I just got back last night from a week vacation.  It was great to get away and let someone else be the hyper-responsible one for a while.  I went back to Florida where I used to live to visit friends.  Sigh.  It was 80 degrees when I boarded the plane yesterday.  It was 28 degrees when I walked the dog back home this morning.

I am pleased to report that I did not gain any weight while I was gone.  I didn't really try, but this was how it worked out.  I did go to the store to buy some vegetables and hummus so I had things to eat.  The man I stayed with eats in a very odd way (to me).  He basically eats once a day, often not until midnight.  At some point during the late afternoon/evening, he starts to decide what he "has a taste for" and what "goes with the day".  Um, what???  So, as a result, at 8:30 pm he is marinating steaks.  We ate a lovely dinner of steak and salad that night.  At midnight.  So I didn't sit around and snack.  I didn't overeat.  I simply tried to make good choices when we did eat. 

The trip itself was surreal.  I have moved away from lots of places in my life, but I have rarely gone back.  It has been almost 3 1/2 years since I left Florida to come back to Spokane, WA to care for my parents.  In those years, just about nothing had changed.  I felt like I was either asleep and dreaming or that I had dreamed the last 3 1/2 years.  I walked into my old office and wondered who moved my desk.  I met with old friends who seem to have not changed at all - with the exception of my old boss who has lost about 100 lbs since I left.  I asked him how he did it.  He said "I stopped doing what I shouldn't and started doing what I should".  I'm sure there is more to it, but it's amazing how much good one can do when you stop eating a half gallon of ice cream each night.

So, I'm home now.  I am happy I went, and happy to be home.  I missed my "stuff" and my people.  And I'm ready to get back to work.