Straight from the pen: Debbie

Floating on a cloud

How beautiful life can be. Wonderful, wonderful and fabulous. Last weekend was such a gem in my history. A weekend where you can still look forward to, in terms of happiness. Hold on tight and float with me on my cloud...

It all started with my work appointment the day before. In Voorschoten I spoke to my writing coach and publisher Linda Baart – de Jong. We've been working together since August, after I discovered that I was at exactly the same point writing my book as the year before, and actually a bit longer than that. The flow came back, as did my confidence in 'a real book' as the end result. Our conversation Friday was a big pool of oil on my fire of creativity and wow it made me happy.

Saturday. In our new neighborhood, planting shrubs was on the schedule today. Together with Bastiaan I reported, with a shovel, to the organizing neighbor. Enthusiastic greetings followed. In the spring sun we gave the shrubs a spot and a good dose of water. We drank coffee with the neighbors and said goodbye with an invitation to the annual neighborhood barbecue in the summer. Ignited by the green fingers of our fellow planters, we set to work in our own backyard. Raking the leaves, thinking about where we wanted to plant new flowers and shrubs ourselves, hoeing ... Amazed at my own energy (I had already gone shopping and driven the car through the car wash), I cheerfully cleaned some windows and also replaced the smelly ones. litter box.

And then. Time to relax during a game of Skip-Bo. Normally I would definitely drink a beer or a good glass of wine with that. Fortunately, I was very different from last week, when I longed for the taste of Leffe Blond while walking. Out of curiosity I tried a 0% IPA beer. That went quite well, but in the evenings I sat on the couch and in front of the television, without any problems drinking green tea. I would also have made an alcoholic drink out of this without I.

On Sunday I ran 8 kilometers in a row, in preparation for my first 10 kilometers during the Marikenloop in May and the Vestingloop in June. It certainly wasn't easy and I have to train a bit more to make those walks a positive experience… After a relaxed afternoon, with a visit to the Bossche living boulevard together with Bastiaan, I was picked up at 4:30 am by a friend . She had spare tickets for a theater performance and of course we chat first during a dinner. The Italian didn't have an 0% IPA beer, but in the theater I was happy to discover that it was on the menu here. While enjoying this I was delighted with my order. Without IkPas there would have been a beer in front of me here too!

So much for my cloud. Back to our challenge: 40 days I pass. Time passes quickly with all those busy and fun activities, but there are plenty of temptation pitfalls to plunge into. Fortunately, the need to compensate for the alcohol with snacks is already a lot less this week. But an unexpected pitfall turns out to be my 0% IPA beer. With the positive experience of this weekend in mind, I read one of the articles in this campaign's newsletter this week. To completely eliminate the association with alcohol, it is better to also leave a 0% beer. Damn. Of course I am in charge of my IkPas adventure and I can continue with this strategy. On the other hand, I also think I can use this period as an example for our teenager of 14. Inside no time the counter is at 18 years old and according to the law he is also allowed to consume alcohol. The adolescent brain is curious, sensitive to peer pressure and is unable to oversee the consequences of actions. I decide to use the little bit of influence I have now positively and to set a good example: I will spend the coming period without the safety net of 0% consumptions.

My next challenge is our upcoming weekend getaway. Due to the arrival of our cat Bella last spring and the moving plans in the fall, it has been a while since we packed our bags for a few days. This – newly booked – trip feels like a mini-vacation. And during holidays… I always drink a little more wine or beer than I do at home. Let's see how I'm going to experience that now as an I passer. Until next week!