Day 16, Off the Wagon

Vicent Van Gogh, visipix.com

At 8 am on Thanksgiving morning, I posted that I was sticking to my cleanse. By 11 am, I had fallen off the wagon. In fact, it left me in the dust--of pie, wine and crusty bread with butter. 

I did skip the chocolate and the caffeine--and I did wake up this morning, and climb right back on that wagon--by choice--in alignment with my body.
 
There were some extenuating circumstances that led to my "fall" from my cleansing diet--as if the holiday wasn't enough. At the last minute, my trip with the family to NYC was canceled, and I found myself traveling to the Jersey shore to see my younger sister, Bonnie, who had just undergone emergency surgery for a perforated appendix.

We thought Bon would be out for Thanksgiving--which is her all time favorite meal--but she spent it suffering in a hospital bed sucking on ice chips while the rest of us enjoyed an unexpected reunion on her behalf.

Life is funny that way.

On the day I left for the shore, I got word that a colleague lost his only son to a car accident while my own son came home from the DMV with his driver's permit in hand.

Somethings are hard to reconcile even more than diets and holidays.

Day 15, The Thanksgiving Anomaly

Is it me or do the words Thanksgiving and "diet" NOT go together?

My extended family is appalled that I "intend" to stick to my cleanse today, but what else can I do? Just have a little stuffing, they say.  But if I do, it will be all over.  I didn't come this far to give up now, and I don't want to have to do this all over again for a very long time--not to mention a time of my choosing.


Who would choose to cleanse at Thanksgiving, some ask; but I didn't choose it, I say, it chose me.

So... there must be some other dieters out there today; some other unlucky cleansers; those who can't ever eat gluten or dairy or imbibe in caffeine or alcohol. How are you faring?

Sure, it's only 8:00 am, so who knows how we'll all do; but from this vantage point, it seems possible to keep my eye on the long-term goal while forgoing fleeting culinary pleasures.

Now that I've typed it, however, I'm not so sure I agree--particularly when the even the clip art of pumpkin pie is calling my name.

I do have my doctor's permission to let loose a bit today.  I'm just not so sure I can face tomorrow if I do.


How about you?

ps. I just had to share this cookbook because it sounds so terrible. What's the point of holidays without fat?