Peaches and Pop Tarts

I am ashamed to admit that this was my lunch one day last week.

I figure I gotta be honest, here, right?

Last week was rough.

For those that don't know me personally, Billy works out of town part of each month. We also have 8 dogs, but he takes one with him, so that leaves me with 7 to feed, water, exercise, etc, etc. And one of those dogs, our sweet Riley, is epileptic and has a very regimented routine and medicine schedule.

So, my day gets worked around Riley's needs when Billy's gone.

One of the important parts of his day is his walk - for two reasons. One, routine is important and keeps his anxiety in check which usually helps with everything else. Second, the sunshine is very beneficial (he has a holistic vet on his team and she agrees with me on that). I also happen to think that all the good endorphins and other things that get released when you exercise are good for him.

So, when you have to work 10 hours a day (or more if you can take it),trying to find time for a 30 minute walk can be a challenge.

Trust me on this.

Two days last week it was raining so I had to find a break in the drizzle - which occurred about 6:30 at night. I don't much care for walking after dark when I'm alone, but you do what you have to do.

Imagine my delight when Wednesday dawned a glorious day. That day's walk would be in daylight and dry!

Normally, this time of year my lunch is only 30 minutes, but I figured I could always work later so walking at lunch seemed like a good idea. After I let everyone out, I just grabbed a half can of peaches (in Splenda). Now I grabbed something because Riley gets medicine at 1:30 so instead of going to lunch at noon as usual I was going about an hour later. I was starving and I grabbed something handy.

So far, so good. Canned peaches, with some exercise looming.

Ok, for some reason, Riley walked just about as slow as he could without completely stopping and all I could do was keep staring at my watch. (I know a lot of people wouldn't do this for a dog but we believe that caring for these guys is part of our purpose for being here so we'll do whatever is needed.) By the time we completed our route my time for lunch was more than up so I reached in the cabinet and grabbed the first thing I could that I could eat without cooking.

Yes, I eat my Pop Tarts cold.

Horrible choice! Yes, Pop Tarts can be a nice occasional treat. They are not a good meal. There is very little of any nutritional value in them, lots of sugar, and nothing to fill you up. So I was hungry again not very long after.

A bad choice.

A bad choice made worse by the fact that I had a house full of things I could have microwaved in two minutes or less. Good choices. (If you haven't checked out Lean Pockets lately, you should. These are not your kids Hot Pockets! I tried a Lean Pocket with grilled chicken in a whole wheat crust with cheese and a garlic white sauce - very grown up! and very good! only 260 calories,)

So, even though I know all the right things to do and try really hard, I slip up. It happens.

But it was one slip. Didn't derail the train. I made good choices for dinner and the next day.

Matter of fact, with everything going on last week, I actually lost 2 pounds. But most importantly, I didn't beat myself up, didn't give up on myself. I recognized the situation for what it was - an inappropriate response to a stressful situation and a bad choice.

But it was only one choice. Not a life-altering event.

Your bad choices aren't either. Make them, but let them go.