As a stroke of good luck, admission was free as it was Parks Day. We toured the fort and learned how to make our own whiskey barrels. Now if you are ever in need of a barrel to store your cranberries, salted salmon or whiskey... I've got it covered. The blacksmith was out, but we were able to stop into a mess hall and try some bannock, which is an interesting concoction made of flour, baking powder, salt, lard and water that is fried in a cast iron pan. A tiny taste and polite smile got me out of it, my friend loves bannock and I was more than happy to give up my share. We then toured the living quarters, the furs, documents, tools, gardens and livestock. We paused for some entertaining story telling about how life was “way back when”, It was a good walk and a fun experience.
We later went down to the park by the river to drink our water, cool off and rev up for the next leg of our day trip... onto the boutiques! As usual in a tourist town, you have an eclectic selection of shops to choose from the only thing they all had in common was the prices. Since when did things cost so much? We found a clothing store with some dressy t-shirts... I don't think I'm the only one that feels $168 is way too much to pay for a t-shirt with ribbon sewn on it around the neck.
We stopped for a late lunch; my friend enjoyed a cheeseburger and coke. I made a different kind of selection. I decided to have a mint chocolate-chip ice cream. I know... a person who is trying to lose a lot of weight, choosing ice cream for lunch? Yes, exactly that. I had made the decision that I can carefully and thoughtfully decide on a special treat (now and again). I should take all steps to be reasonable about it (i.e. not gorging or making a day long festival of eating) and enjoy exactly what I want prepared exactly the way I wanted it. I went up to the counter and confidently ordered my mint chocolate-chip waffle cone... mmmm I could hardly wait. When my "lunch" arrived, I tasted it like it was fine wine. My anticipation was mounting... and then blah. It wasn’t what my imagination wanted. I gave it a couple of more licks... tasted greasy and gritty somehow. Yuck. I told my friend who then asked me why I hadn’t picked the gelato place next door instead of ordering it at the hamburger joint we were sitting in. I headed for the door... stood in line at the gelato place and re-ordered a mint chocolate-chip waffle cone.... re-paid a king’s ransom for it... and yes... heaven at last. I returned to my friend who was balancing my abandoned dripping cone in one hand while trying to manage her cheeseburger in the other. After tossing the original cone, I sat back down and enjoyed my gelato. Ahh... life was good.
The way I see it... I don’t want to “cheat” on my food plan; I want my food plan to include special lunches like this. I want to enjoy all that life has to offer... including what might arguably be the best gelato on the planet. I consciously made the decision to enjoy my gelato. I wanted to really taste it, to love it until I reached the point when I felt a little full. I don’t think I was even quite at half-way on my cone when I decided that as wonderful as it was, it was enough. It was that simple. I felt empowered. I had exactly what I wanted, in exactly the right amount. I followed my food plan for the rest of the day. Everything in moderation, special treats now and again.
Lesson: Don’t deprive yourself of the special things in life. Recognize that to keep them really special, you can chose to have them only now and again, in quantities to satisfy, not overwhelm. Empower yourself in knowing that you can walk away, satisfied, happy and looking forward to the next time.
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