Not Dead and Stronger and Thinner for it

Hello to all...Happy Sunday evening!  It has been an strangely long, interesting day.  We, 3 adults, 2 pre-teens and 1 white dog...all had to pile back in the Suburban  and make the 2.5+ hour journey back to Houston! WOWZA!
After having a fun day shopping in Tyler yesterday, we all had to get up early, pack, load the "Burb" and get on the road by 10:00am....all of us had to be back in Houston for meetings, camp packing...etc....So,easy right? WRONGO!

Two cranky girls, 3 task driven adults and a neurotic schnauzer do not make for a pleasant morning!!
Mix that up with Emily falling (at E.R. Now), bad weather and time deadlines...sufficed to say...The Fluffy Girl reached the high end of the stress scale pretty quickly...btw...Emily has a groin muscle strain...and will live!!
So in an effort to re-group, I am having my weekly "me"time, reading and praying!  As I read, I am reminded of the Emotional Roller coaster that I often speak of...I have decided that part of the ups and downs of the roller coaster is not just about the feelings themselves..but the whole act of "living" with them...sharing them with honesty...you know, all of that good stuff.

But...I have made a fascinating discovery...the emotional roller coaster of one 11 year old and one 12 year old....combined with my roller coaster and the respective roller coasters of 2 other grown women...equals a whole lotta rollin....and not much coastin'! 

Now don't get me wrong...there were mostly ups this past 4 days...but the downs...WOW...the downs were quick and deadly...with very little logic involved.  My Mom tells a story...when she was younger..a little girl and was frustrated, mad, etc...She would tell her Mom..."Don't touch me cause if you touch me you will be touching me!!!  There were several of those moments this weekend!  Several sentences spoken that rang out with that kind of logic! 

Here was the challenge for me...There were many times that I wanted to say...Don't touch me cause if you touch me you will be touching me!!! 

Here is another challenge...being in a lake house with 4 other people who can eat anything they want to!  Man, I have struggled!  I have been thinking today that starting the Cleanse before this trip might have been a slightly bad idea...But as I sit here and write..I am aware of the phrase "what does not kill you makes you stronger"...I got through this weekend...without major lapses on my cleanse.  It has not been perfect...but I did not eat...chips and salsa, cookies and cream ice cream, oreos, enchiladas, spaghetti (my Mom's homemade version), bacon, garlic bread, pizza, fast food, cinnamon rolls, or CAKE...among other things! 

Truth is...I made it through a weekend of fun, laughter, mood swings...my own and others and temptations galore.  Again..it was not perfect...not emotionally, physically or otherwise...but I did get through without the falling back on the typical rationalizations I might have used in the past...things like..."It's just for the next few days"..."I am on vacation", "I don't have any other options"...etc...

I can tell you that being different is hard...however, it is rewarding when I come out on the other side of a challenge and have done it differently that I would have 9 months ago...Trust me, my travel companions would probably tell you that my coping skills were at times, less than stellar..but what they don't know...is that for me...It could have been so much worse. 

I am blessed...God gave me the strength to get through a challenge...a food challenge...an emotional challenge and  I am not dead and I am stronger (and thinner)  for it!!! 

Despite the challenges, I got to spend time with people I love...on a lake in the East Texas Piney Woods...We all rode out our individual roller coaster rides and hung on while we all rode out the rides of everyone else....They are not dead...and I am hoping they are stronger for it!!!

Tonight...I am shutting down...getting some rest and getting ready for Cleanse Week #2!  MAWA!!!!

I will be posting pics of our adventure...just too pooped to post tonight!