Had a terrific weekend... the children stayed with grandparents and dh & I took off for 2 nights alone. We had a private oceanfront cabin with king size bed, fireplace, and hot tub out on the deck (and tv, which is not something we have at home). I had the local spa come and give us massages Saturday afternoon and then we went out for a nice dinner Saturday night. It was a really wonderful weekend - the first time I've left my youngest for 2 consecutive nights (she was just fine, btw; she is 5, after all).
Sunday, being Mama's Day.... the kids had each made me a card, ds gave me some sunflower seeds for planting and dd picked a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers from around grammy's yard. It was really nice. :) (Happy Mama's Day to you, too, btw).
I was a little irked, however, that dh gave me the "you're not my mother" excuse. Not so much as a "thank-you for being the mother of my children and for all you do for them, and me"... To me, Mother's Day is the perfect opportunity for him to at least acknowledge that, you know, I put my career aside to be at home with our children (a conscious choice, and not one I regret at all, btw, but still). I could go on, but you get my drift. A little irked, I still am.
Monday we zipped over to the Mainland to see dd's godfather & his wife before they move out of town later this week. Went to the Children's Festival (Al Simmons is hilarious.... for children & adults alike. I *loved* watching my 9 yr old giggling unreservedly at his antics. There's nothing better than a giggling 9 yr old.) Rode on the public transit train (always a thrill for our country bumpkin kids), visited Dad's office (23d floor has incredible views!!) & saw his little place where he stays when he's over there. A whirlwind visit. Within hours of getting over there, driving in traffic, my adrenaline was pumping and I realized living in the city it is not a naturally-driven adrenaline rush. You're constantly on edge, your body is worried about risks from other people... Living in the country, you're aware of your surroundings, always listening and watching for signs of approaching wildlife, but in the city, it's other humans you're wary of... and you just never know how they're going to interact or react. It's very unnerving. Within a few more hours, your body adjusts to this constant adrenaline rush, but I don't know that it's very healthy for our bodies. That's just my opinion, of course. Back on the rock over here, as soon as you drive off the ferry (heck, as soon as you're on the ferry), there's a big psychic release as you leave that all behind and adopt the island pace of life. So much nicer. It's the same out in the Valley, away from the city... the farther you go from the city, the less your body seems pushed into fight/flight/freeze constantly...
anyways, I managed fine with a little preparation in terms of food for the weekend. Beautiful fruit salads in pineapple halves for breakfast on the weekend, I'd made smoothies and nori stix and flax crackers and seed cheese ahead of time for food... Saturday night at the restaurant I had the one raw thing on the menu... a green salad (surprise, surprise). Mother's Day I prepared all my own meals (I was quietly disappointed about that). Going to the mainland I packed a cooler with litres of green smoothies and some avocado/cacao puddings.... a lifesaver when I'm craving something of a treat. Took some avocado salad roll wraps to dinner at our friends... wanted to go to the raw food restaurant in the big city, but alas, didn't happen. Had another big garden salad for lunch Tuesday while we were out. So yep, all in all, it worked out just fine. A few Larabars, a couple apples, and you've got a weekend away. Easier to travel with raw food than you think... if you don't mind eating a little more repetitively than at home, perhaps.... Smoothies travel very well in a cooler, apples & Larabars are easy to pack, and you can nearly always get a garden salad when eating out (ugh I have to tell you - one restaurant we ate at on Monday for lunch served a "mixed greens" salad - it was just iceberg lettuce. There was nothing mixed about it. It was like eating styrofoam. Blech.).
As I said, with a little preparation it's not hard to eat raw when away from home. It does (for me, at least) require a little mental preparation in regards to the temptations you're going to be faced with when eating out, though. Know that you're going to be eating in restaurants where everyone you're dining with will be ordering cooked food that will be aromatic and well, possibly quite tempting to just try a bite of. Know that there will be a dessert menu and those around you might indulge in it, leaving you to do what during that time? Think ahead about how you are going to handle these moments. Know that when you're travelling you'll be passing various vending machines, and when you travel with kids, they nearly always want to "just see" what's in them. Having a plan in your head helps. Bring easy to transport raw foods - like Larabars, apples, snacky kinda things. Drink lots of water when you're out (keeping in mind that finding a washroom when you need one isn't always convenient, LOL). Eating raw while out isn't a big deal at all, but it does require (again, for me, at least) a little mental prep.
Namaste
~n~
1 comment:
I think any choice of eating requires that, from being vega, to being low fat, or whatever conscious choice you make about what to consume for health reasons. I can't imagine having Crones or IBS or being allergice to gluten etc. Having nutritional allergies or reactions must also be really tough when eating out. It all comes down to honoring our bodies, giving it what it needs, and being in a society that has little regard for this and much regard for excess and consumerism. Sad really.
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