March. For me, this is a signature month. For many of you, it is, as well. It was the third week in March when I realized just how serious COVD 19 had become. It now had a name other than "the Chinese flu" which, in hindsight, I find quite defamatory. It also began to show up with statistics, warnings, regulations and protocols. It changed our lives.
It has been a year of mask wearing, hand washing, sanitizing, testing, re-testing, losing, gaining, crying, resolving, canceled flights and vacations, socially distanced functions, and so much more.
This will be a really transparent blog and the shortest one I have done by far. Here goes.
It was May when I decided that I would make a grilled cheese sandwich. Yes. This is newsworthy. Up to that point, I rarely ate any bread. I announced to the prayer squad that I was throwing caution to the wind and that as soon as the pandemic was over (in my mind, that would've been in a couple of months) I would get back on track--get in the gym, eat a diet with no carbs. My regular way of life. My habits.
The more isolated things became, the more food I consumed and alcohol I drank. Now when I say alcohol, most people know that I really like my wine. A good buttery Chardonnay, a crisp Rosé and, once in a while, an expensive Pinot Noir. But I rarely drank any hard alcohol.
I found myself buying whiskey, bourbon, vodka--oh, and nice whiskey glasses with a matching decanter--and ultimately, an entire bar setup because I was invited to a friend's online birthday bash, complete with a mixologist. I looked forward to the event just a little too much.
Soon, I was treating myself to night caps (daily) that I convinced myself were, like the grilled cheese, temporary. I would read or hear people talk about addiction on the rise during covid and laugh when people talked about "covid weight." Inwardly, it made me uncomfortable.
I promised this would be short, so...
In the last 12 months, gluttony has been my thing. In particular, food and alcohol. These were my new habits. I found myself going to bed at 3, 4, and once 7 a.m. Then I slept til the afternoon. I found out this last habit has a name: Revenge Sleep Deprivation. Check it out. It's a thing. And because I am self employed and work consistently, it really fit right into what I was doing.
I could only think of one way to take care of the mess I had gotten myself into. I hired a personal trainer. We start tomorrow morning at 7 am. I have to go to bed because I have to get up. That solves two of my four issues. The other two line up nicely. I believe working out and eating clean go together. When I am committed to an exercise program, my eating habits fall into place. Lastly, drinking in the evening and working out in the morning... well, read that sentence again. It doesn't make sense, does it?
Tomorrow is March 1, 2021. I am as isolated as I was in March of 2020, and I have no idea how long this will last. What I know for sure--in my Oprah voice--is that at some point, what I thought was a temporary thing began to feel very permanent.
So let's raise a glass to new beginnings. My glass will be figurative.
