Day Twenty-Five - Back Home

In the past four days we have driven over 1800 miles through five states.  We've seen a friend get married, seen old friends we hadn't seen in a long time, and spent quality (while very brief) time with Bekah's family.  Let me pause to say that if it weren't for Bekah's little sister being willing to sacrifice her weekend to help me out with the kids at the wedding, I would not have pulled it off.  I'd still be sitting in my hotel room trying to get myself, E, and B all ready for the wedding yesterday.

Needless to say, I am completely worn out.  Driving that many hours in under four days is simply more than I can handle.  I have definitely not chosen the best foods for my body either.  Just because I'm under my max calories does not mean that I feel good with the foods I've eaten.  I'm just wondering how everyone does it?  How can anyone stay under 1500 calories while eating out and having snacks on the road?  It is beyond me.  I probably could do without all the snacking if I had enough sleep each night before driving, but let me remind anyone who has forgotten, we have two kids.  Quality sleep is few and far between.

So what are my take aways from this trip?  I am way too impatient with Bekah and my kids.  Even though I have been doing well with eating, I am still addicted to french fries.  Having your wife pinch you really will keep you awake when you are about to fall asleep when driving at one AM.  Renting a car from the airport will save you hundreds of dollars on a rental.  Youth hockey players like to steal the luggage carts at hotels and not return them.  An iPad, Bluetooth headphones, and several episodes of Thomas and Friends can go a long way on such a long car ride.  Whoever decided to replace lime skittles with sour green apple is now my mortal enemy (seriously, it just throws off the whole flavor combination).  Also one major victory for me was that I was able to only eat half of my meal at a couple of meals and still be completely satisfied.  I used to would have eaten all of mine, plus the leftovers from E and Bekah.  It's awesome to see life change starting to stick in different areas.  

After a whirlwind trip it is great to be back home.  Back in my house, with my things (even though they are all still waiting to be unpacked), with my bed (where I am heading right now).  There is just something that can't be expressed enough about sleeping in your own bed.  Now for a good nights rest that will prepare me for another week of work, play, and losing my butter half.