Today was a big challenge! My friends CJ and Tony went swimming with me at the Clover YMCA. The Clover Y has two big water slides and a huge pool area. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving Hestia alone while riding the slides and such, I knew there would be lots of kids running around and bothering her. Plus it was really hot out, not Hestia’s favorite weather.
So I went alone! This is a major accomplishment for me! I picked up CJ on my way to the Y, and he was my service human for the outing. We had a lot of fun! We did the water slides like 6 or 7 times, they were SO fun! I hadn’t been on a water slide for like 15 years or something.
We did some water aerobics, attempted to swim a lap and failed, hung out in the pool, and did flips and handstands and reading the newspaper under water. It was a lot of fun! And I was able to be present and me the whole time!
After the outing I was going to drop CJ off at his place, and he mentioned that I could drop him off at this awesome sushi restaurant. He was meeting his wife there for dinner. Melissa is a good friend of mine, too, so I got sushi with them!
This was where the anxiety and racing thoughts started to creep in. I let CJ know and he was great about it. He didn’t fluff it off like it was nothing, but he also didn’t focus on it which would have made me feel awkward. I got some very yummy sushi! A spicy yellowtail roll, and an avocado roll.
And I was SO GOOD and didn’t eat my fortune cookie, nor did I eat any mints that they had at the register. It was hard, but I think the main reason I did so well without Hestia (besides my awesome service human) is because of cutting the sugar out of my diet.
The drive home was a little rough, but I just turned up the music (Greatest Showman) and imagined Hestia hanging in front of the window of the van, like a carrot tempting the horse to keep walking. That got me through the drive.
Anyway, now I’m off to spend some quality time with Hestia. I think this is the longest we’ve ever been separated since I got her!
What joy! I love swimming for all of the visceral sensations of it. And sushi dinner. Sounds like a beautiful day. Hope you’re snuggling up with Hes as I type this 🙂
Swimming and sushi are awesome! Hestia is currently snoozing on Sabrina’s old beds in the corner– Ollie man is up here cuddling with me. They tend to take turns!
I’m glad you had a good day