I feel pretty good. Instead of finding it difficult to drag myself out of bed at 8 (or 9), I woke up alert and energetic at 6:30. OK, now I’m feeling like the previous me. I tried to sneak out of bed, hoping to get in an early yoga practice, but my extra snuggly bed-mate (my daughter) required that I return. One of the other goals of my cleanse is to return to a more consistent practice. It took some time for me to partial stew (mmmmm, stew...) in the bed before I could let go of the fact that I could not just go and do my own thing.

I adore my child beyond anything I could have ever imagined. She has shown me the depth of love that is possible. However, sometimes I question why I continue to be so strongly tethered. The whole attachment parenting thing was great as an ideal, but nobody mentioned that it is SOOOO much harder than these ‘modern’ parenting methods. Your life is not your own for a long time. All this, just because she needed me to stay with her and snuggle, instead of doing some yoga. I am frustrated by my own idiosyncrasies.

Other than that, the day started well. I enjoyed my lemon water, pear and bowl of veggies (steamed this time). I even prepared an exciting assortment of asparagus, red cabbage and scallions for lunch. Wahoo!

It’s a full day of back-to-back clients for me, which can be really draining. But at least it distracts me from my hunger. I definitely found it challenging to stay on task as I counseled so many people through their issues. I brought up the cleanse a few times, but didn't dwell. In this position, it's really not about me. One of my clients had just finished a 40 day fast, and basically invited me to do a real cleanse sometime. None of this wussy eating stuff allowed. All sorts of things crossed my mind, as you can imagine. None of them printable.

At lunch I scarfed a scary amount of vegetables. My breath, urine and bowels are all sorts of crazy.
I am still feeling ravenous, but also very thirsty. The fluids just seem to run out of me. I've tried cold, hot, warm - it doesn't satisfy and leaves me sitting on the toilet every 20 minutes. Gosh, I can't believe I forgot all this. Maybe just blocked it out...

More veggies for dinner (what a surprise) and I actually treated myself with some kimchee. The whole flavor experience was exciting. I didn't specifically disallow fermented products, so I'll try not to punish myself.

After running a few errands with my daughter, I found myself feeling very short-tempered, impatient, almost angry. When we got home, we decided to watch a yoga video together (notice, not do just watch). When the DVD player remote control played a disappearing act, I lost all my control. I started stomping through the house ENRAGED blaming everyone who had ever lived for hiding the remote. Good thing my daughter has her father's (slightly disturbed) sense of humor, and found me hilarious. I suppose I must have been...

Remote control found, Shiva Rea's dulcet tones and lithe body for our video entertainment, and the night came to a close. Is it really possible that I have 5 more days of this?

Some thoughts linger for me from the day.
Why have we set up a society that causes such a degree of ill health by following its norms?
Wouldn't it be easier just to be on constant health maintenance, than have to do these drastic steps (fasting, cleansing, detoxing) to get back to normal?
Is is part of the human experience to learn to resist our natural impulses for things that do not serve us? Considering how beneficial proper eating and exercise can be, how come NOBODY does it?
How can we expect anyone to embrace healthy living, when even its spokespeople (aka me) struggle?