Week 0.5
April 3 to April 9
Monday: I start my day by realizing that all my Non-Planning means I need to go to the grocery store if I am going to get anywhere. Thankfully I have a greek yogurt in the fridge for breakfast. Win. I get the shopping done and make the first meal on the list: Caprese Pasta. Feeling pretty good about this week!
Tuesday: Doctors appointment with the Gastroenterology Dept at the hospital. I learn that the issues I have been having for years with my throat closing on me when I eat are something that will require an Endoscopy and dilation of my esophagus with a balloon. The doctor has had an opening and they will be getting me in on Thursday. It's really fast. I hate anesthesia. Just thinking about the camera going down my throat makes me gag. I console myself with a kid date to Burger King and a living room picnic while we watch Masterchef. I stick to the dinner plan though: Braised Chicken Thighs with Wild Rice Pilaf! Which I then almost choke on because my throat is a jerk....
Wednesday: Now that I have been defeated by my fast food detour, I can no longer see the trail. In hindsight, all I had to do was wake up and eat my breakfast on plan and continue on my merry way in the sunshine, but alas, in the moment I was all but lost. I do not record anything in my food log today. I have to begin my fast at 10 PM to prepare for the procedure tomorrow and as soon as I get told I cannot eat, it's all I want to do. I still make the planned dinner: Thai Pork and Veggie Meatballs.
Thursday: At this point, I will be stopping my dairy of the week as it basically went like this:
-Thursday morning: Fasting
-Thursday Afternoon: Hospital
-Thursday Evening: Sleeping off Anesthesia
-Friday: Sleeping late because Anesthesia hits me like a truck and not eating because my throat hurts a lot
-Saturday: Not only am I off the trail, I am camping in place. I feel better but have tossed this week to the winds. I deviate from the plan and make Spaghetti and garlic bread. I eat only sauce. I vow to have a Week 1 Do-Over.
-Sunday: Energies renewed, I make a new plan of attack! I build my Bullet Journal for the new week, and I commit to the same goals as last week. I have decided to stay on these goals for the most part until I can conquer them. This is the first ascent on the trail and until I scale this mini-peak, I will not be seeing the next at all. Beginning tomorrow (Monday), I will track daily events and present to you my great Adventure Journal.
I wasn't going to post this week. It went so badly, that I was ready to just scrap the idea or skip a week and wait until I had something inspiring or victorious to share, but then I might never post. I think there will always be things I would rather went better, but putting them out there and acknowledging they exist is how we overcome them. If we only present the good, how will anyone know how to struggle and fail and continue in spite of how bad it sucks? Even writing this, I had to admit to myself that until chemical sedation took over, I did stick to my dinner meal plan! That is a positive. And if I can continue to find one positive a week, take one step each 7 days, I will eventually make it down the trail. It might take me much longer than I anticipated to get to the peak, but at least when I look back, I won't be standing where I started.