Last week was Spring Break and we took our camper out for the first trip of the year, pulling it to one of our long time favorite state parks a day early since we were ready to go and the spot was empty.
Most of the week was beautiful, but each day, we kept an eye on Friday’s forecast. We arrived on Sunday and were set to leave on Saturday, and although the forecast all week long had predicted bad weather on Friday, weather predictions often change over the course of time. But not this one. The forecast held steady: severe weather, along with winds in excess of 60 miles per hour, hail, and possible tornadoes were in the forecast, and we made the decision on Thursday to pull out a day early on Friday.
Kicked out the hubby and took over the hammock with the dog.
It’s a good thing we did, too, since it appears the area we camped on got an excessive amount of rain. A little rain won’t spoil a campout, but a lot of rain, with wind, in among the trees, in a camper the size of a UPS van? Not the best idea. So we braved the elements — which mostly consisted of enough pollen to pollinate the entirety of the state ot Texas — and swept it off the camper before packing up and heading home.
It was a good week, with plenty of firsts in a long time for me, including hanging out in the hammock with my dog, participating more in setup and breakdown, hiking a little bit, along with just generally getting around a lot easier. Much of that is because of weight loss, but daily walking has also helped quite a bit.
One other thing was as surefire as those Friday storms, though, and that was that my week’s vacation from my normal dietary restrictions had consequences. Just like waiting for the bad weather to move in, I knew I’d pay a price for all the salt I had during the week. (Keep your ice cream and give me a pretzel!) I’m still paying the price and will be into next week, I’m sure. While my deviations were far from overboard, my body is sensitive and picks up both water and excess weight quite easily; things I know from years of experience.
Despite that, I was a bit surprised when I stepped on the scales Monday morning and saw my gain. For a few days, I fought mental demons that screamed I had failed. And perhaps I had, since I knew what I was doing at the time I did it, but I’ve been a bit complacent, lately. I haven’t taken any planned meal deviations since the holidays, and I’ve been losing a fair amount lately, just about every week. Just like the rains that eventually came, I should have expected the results I got, and I should have prepared myself for the outcome.
For a couple of days, I admit that I felt like I’d rolled backward more than I actually had, and that’s because I was much more emotional about the result than I should have been. I’ve since checked myself and this has been a lesson to remind myself that I can’t just always assume my head will stay in the right place at all times without the necessary work to get and keep it there.
I’m back on track, though, unlike the weather, which has been a bit cranky this week. We’ve got lots of future camping trips planned, and I’ll be better prepared for each of them as summer nears.