Easter Weekend

I had an absolutely lovely Easter weekend with my aunt, uncle, and cousins up in Big Northern City. (For those of who may recall, I made the same trip last year.) I drove up Saturday morning and got in around 1pm. My cousins (E—age 22 and G—age 19) and I went out for lunch and then came back home to decorate Easter eggs, make chocolate-covered strawberries, and hang around the house while my aunt cooked. Then E and I went out for sandwiches before seeing Transcendence at one of those ridiculous new theaters with recliner seats. I think the movie was good, but can't actually give you a valid review because it required a lot of thinking and I was dozing off after the early morning and long day. (The recliners didn't help.) But Johnny Depp always kills me.

those eyes

On Sunday, I slept until 8:30 (ALERT THE MEDIA) which is like unheard of for me, as I'm usually up and bouncing around by 6 or 7. We got breakfast and coffee, then helped my aunt with some cooking and errands and such. My cousin and I went for a walk (meaning, I made her take me for a walk) because it was gorgeous and warm outside, and then we came back and ate our big main meal around 1pm. Afterwards we did an Easter egg hunt. Yes, that would be me, age 23; E, age 22; G, age 19; and G's friend, age 19 hunting for the eggs that my aunt and uncle hid. I learned last year that Aunt H and Uncle L take the whole Easter thing extremely seriously. YOLO, right?

E and I hit the road later that afternoon and got back to College City around 9. I dropped her off at her apartment, and then floored it the 15ish minutes to my place because by that point, I was SO sick of driving. But I had an amazing time, loved pretty much every minute of it, and reminded myself how incredible it is to have such welcoming, loving family within driving distance, especially when my own parents are so far away.

Regarding the food situation, which was insanely hard and stressful last year: I was way less stressed, and did way better. I still struggled a little with the drive on Saturday, and had made myself get up early to run beforehand. That may have been a stupid and ED-fueled decision, but say what you want. I have a really hard time sitting still for that long. So I got in my run, ate breakfast, and was on the road by 8am. By the time I got to my aunt and uncle's house between 1 and 2pm, I was starving and light-headed. I usually only let myself go 3 or 4 hours between breakfast and lunch, so it was a big gap. I made up for it a little with my lunch, and then made up more by eating a bigger dinner than usual, and even getting a giant cookie to go with it. Later that night I ate one of the snacks I'd brought, so my daily total was a tad low but not horrible. I expected Sunday to be harder with the lack of exercise and huge meal planned, but actually experienced very little anxiety or stress about it. The walk with my cousin before lunch helped a lot, and reminded me that exercise can be low-impact, light, and relaxing instead of an all-out sprint that leaves me drenched in sweat and gasping for air. Plus, I am convinced sunshine has magical mood-improving properties.

source

I didn't think about schoolwork once all weekend. Which was a little stressful when I got back Sunday night, but totally worth it. I had brought my laptop, but didn't even take it out of my backpack the whole time I was there. So freeing and relaxing. Hope everyone had an equally nice time and is getting back into the swing of things!