Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Facing Forward

July started out with such hope and promise... a new food plan, a few pounds lost.... some running, tennis and golf... and then out of the blue, the devastating news that my older and only Sister had passed away suddenly in Calgary.  We scrambled to put together travel plans and flew home to be with family and honor her at a lovely memorial ceremony, and visit and share memories with friends and extended family at a reception afterwards... it is all a bit of a blur as you can imagine.

It took me a good couple of weeks after that to shake the mental fog and realize that my wonderful husband was having a birthday during the last week of the month. I know I am still in denial somewhat, but a birthday was just what I needed to give me a change of focus and a reason to smile again.  We had several fun outings and visited new restaurants every day of the week... and on the last day of July we had a coffee date with a cousin I had recently reconnected with after many many years of not having seen her.  It was really quite qnice and we have made plans to get together again in a few weeks. She lives in Calgary but has a home here on the Island and travels back and forth fairly often.

All in all a very emotional month... am I glad it is over?  You bet, and I am looking forward to August and getting back into a groove.

I have joined a 7 day challenge to clean up my diet... for me that means concentrating on eating whole, real foods... staying away from alcohol and the processed stuff as much as possible.  I do feel so much better when I eat this way and my weight is naturally easier to maintain too. Even at that, a lot of the freggies I eat are conveniently packaged and or frozen unless I make an effort to visit a farmer's market... hmmm... must put that on my August list...


Running seems to have become a Sunday morning activity.  And for now that is all right. I am playing tennis on Tuesdays and sometimes Thursdays, golfing on Wednesdays, and walking and hiking as much as I can throughout the week as well.  I am missing my strength training and so have added yoga to the mix... all the downward facing dog poses at least keep my upper body working and the stretching feels amazing.  I do love to stretch!

So... we are somewhat caught up... it is my natural tendency to retreat when faced with unpleasant situations so this has been a tough post for me to write and I am looking forward to having happier things to talk about!

Tell me, what are you looking forward to in August?  I would love to hear your plans.

 

15 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry to hear about your sister. I can only imagine how hard that must be but I am glad that you were able to be with your family during that difficult time.

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  2. I'm so sorry about your sister! What a rough time for you. I find myself a little off kilter in summer anyways--routine and healthy eating seems to fall aside for fun. Which is fine. Summer comes to an end too soon.

    Hoping August is a much better month for you.

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  3. Oh Elle, I'm so sorry to hear about your sisters passing. Thinking of you and your family. Glad you had your husband's birthday to celebrate.

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  4. So glad you're sharing your struggles here. I am every so sorry about your sister and for what it's worth will keep you in my thoughts and prayers this week. I'm looking forward to an organ transplant this month, to hopefully help my cousin, and being on the other side of the surgery.

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  5. Sorry to hear about your sister. I hope the memories of your time together will bring you comfort.

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  6. I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot even imagine how hard that must be for all of you. Having something happy to look forward to has to help a lot. xoxo

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  7. I'm so sorry, Elle. I can't imagine what you've been going through. Sending so many hugs and much love your way. 💕

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  8. I am so sorry for your loss. Losing a sister can be devastating. I lost one of my younger sisters over 10 years ago and it was so hard. It's a reminder to all of how important it is to keep family close.

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  9. Sending you so much love and positivity and hope. I am so sorry for your loss.

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  10. Oh, I am so sorry for your loss! Continue to take care of yourself and be kind to yourself.

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  11. I am so sorry about the loss of your sister. Sending good thoughts and prayers your way. I am glad you got to reconnect with a cousin. Here's hoping for a good August!

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  12. I am so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine how hard that must be. I'm happy to hear you reconnected with your cousin. Sending you virtual hugs.

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  13. Oh Elle, I am so sorry to hear about your sister's passing. Big hugs!

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  14. I'm so sorry about your sister, Elle. Thinking about you and yours.

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  15. I am so sorry to hear about your sister. Keeping you and your family in my prayers as you work through the healing process.

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