It's been 40 days and time for True Confessions.
Back on Ash Wednesday, I told myself to go 40 days without alcohol or 'sweets'. Sweets I defined in my head as pastries, donuts, cake, chocolate, candy, ice cream, pie. You get the picture. Alcohol is straight-forward.
With two exceptions, I stuck with it. One late afternoon, I had my first fall..... it was about 3 weeks into the time-frame. It had been a challenging day and I was more than irritated and came home grumpy. There sat the bottle of red, open. And I went for it.
I poured 3 oz. and took a swig. Do you want to know.... it tasted dreadful.
Now, that surprised me! I thought it was going to be just what the doctor ordered. But, it was so off-putting, I put the glass down and washed my mouth with water.
A week or so later, we are at a function and the wine was pouring freely. I went over to the bar and asked the keep to pour a short glass of white. (wasn't going to try the red again!) I let it sit there and looked at it while having a conversation with John's boss's wife. We talked about Lent and she said I had no business messing up with I had started. I sniffed at the aroma wafting from the glass. But the more we talked, the less I wanted it. So, eventually, when she suggested she could take it off my hands, I slid the untouched glass over and thanked her. That was the last time I even thought about alcohol, other than in broad terms.
Now, the other failing, if I want to think of it in that term, was last Tuesday, when I partook in banana pudding, triple chocolate I don't know what & Key Lime crepes. We were out with friends celebrating a birthday and when it can time for dessert, I went for it. No lie, I ate my not-fair-share and probably then some. It was so good.
Totally different experience from the one I had with wine. I was hoping one bite would mentally turn me off of another but, alas, I know what lights up the pleasure zone in the cerebral cortex.
But 40 days come and go, and here it is Easter.
What to do?
Well, with the exception of staying clear of sweets and alcohol, I didn't change any other aspect of our diet. I am pleased to see that without exercise or reduction in the quantity in consumption, I have dropped 8-10 lbs. 8-10 because depending on the time of day, I fluctuate this much. And now that I have LOST it, I don't want it to FIND me again!
I don't think I will (I pray I won't!) be resuming my consumption of alcohol now, at least not to the degree as before! Same with sweets.
But today, now that I can, I will bottle the 2nd carboy of pear wine from our haul last year. I think syphoning the first bottle is going to get me drunk.
