Day 29 :: Wine and Weekend

On Friday evening and after 20 days of complete teatotaling, I indulged in a glass of Pinot Noir. Hmm. Such an odd soup of emotion and thought swirled about my head as I opened the bottle. Anticipation, yes... mild excitement, sure... a touch of nervousness, hmm... and is that... a hint of guilt?

D bore witness as I took my first sip and (warning: really hokey but fitting adjective to come) it was absolutely ENCHANTING!

Wine was certainly the most complex taste that I'd experienced in a while -- what with all my PCP clean living, it hit me hard! Suddenly,

I was transformed into a sommelier with a mild case of Turrets, and started uncontrollably blurting out a string of single word praises:

"Jammy!"

"Syrupy!"

"Uuuuummmmm!"'

"Plummy!"

"Goooooood!"

Stranger still was that after a half glass, the magic kinda wore off.

Sure, it was still yummy, but all the mental fanfare quickly died back. Instead, I started thinking about empty calories, the impact of alcohol consumption on the body's fat burning process, and... holy cow, was I actually getting tipsy from this half glass?!

I remember reading a Dr. Dean Ornish book a while back (not sure of the title), one where he mentioned mindful "treating" and how it can help us stick with more healthful food choices. He wrote that while he kept a very healthy, near vegetarian diet, he would still permit a treat of chocolate ice cream because he had taught himself to indulge wisely. He went on to explain that in his experience, the genuine pleasure and satisfaction only existed in the first few tastes of ice cream, following that it was just cold, creamy, overly sweet stuff.

Back then, I didn't quite relate. I'm not much for sweets, ice cream or chocolate (I know, it's really weird), but with this indulgence experiment, I completely understood. When D asked if I wanted a second glass, I realized that I really didn't. I enjoyed that one glass and it was enough that night. What I really wanted was to wake up early and clear headed so I could workout and grab a yoga class in the morning.

--

Saturday night a friend gifted us tickets to an evening with Ira Glass, a Baltimore hometown hero. Another exercise in mindfulness as I avoided the cocktail and snack tables at the pre-party, sticking instead with another favorite, soda water and lime. Ira was there working the crowd -- such a nice guy. All and all a truly an enjoyable presentation with one of NPR's finest.

--

On Sunday afternoon, I caught up with a friend. When she asked what was new, I had to cringe a little as D told her about PCP. (Audience depending, I try to avoid the crazy looks people give when they link me with any kind of "diet"). But after I thoroughly explained the details, her eyebrows lowered and she was genuinely interested.

We discussed the program for a while and at some point I caught myself explaining that I'd worked out every day for the last 27 days. (Me: Wow!). She was impressed but had to joke that I had officially become one of "those people" -- ha, ha.

You know what, though? That same friend texted on Monday to say that she'd been to the gym that morning, had a full workout and sauna. She even ate/drank less at dinner the night before. All because she was inspired by my fitness efforts. How about that?

Not a bad weekend.