You may have noticed that I haven't written in a while. You also might have noticed that the challenge should have ended a couple weeks ago. While both of those observations are true, what you don't know is that my sister somehow convinced me to carry my Flamin' Hot fast through lent all the way to Easter. At the time I was almost psyched about the idea. I had been doing so well I thought, hey, what's another two and a half weeks, right? Now all I can think is that right now I could be satisfying this persistent rumbling in my stomach with a handful (or twenty) of Cheetos. But next Sunday is Easter and that night I plan to celebrate the Lord's victory over death with a big bag of cheesy goodness and reruns of Psych (a show I largely enjoy because its main characters also understand the importance of satisfying snacks). This doesn't mean, however, that I have gained nothing from this experience. In fact here are a few reflections on this challenge as it comes to an end:


1) I can go without Cheetos...In a week I will have successfully gone one month, three weeks, and four days without eating Flamin Hots, a feat I had previously thought impossible. In the past couple of weeks, I have even stopped thinking about them so frequently, going entire days without craving them. That is something I truly never thought possible. And I like to think that after this is all over, I will be able to indulge in a handful of Cheetos without going overboard. But somehow I think that avoiding them completely will prove easier than portion control.


2) I should not go without Cheetos completely...Although this challenge helped me to achieve the intended goal of detoxing my system, I can't say that it improved my diet. All of the time I spent eating Cheetos was simply replaced with time spent being hungry and wishing I had some Cheetos. And sometimes with Nutella. But mostly hunger. I'd tell myself, hey, instead of Cheetos, why not eat an apple? And then I'd go to the refrigerator, open the door, stare at its contents for a few seconds and then close it and grab the jar of Nutella or bag of chocolate chips from the pantry. My meals continued to consist mostly of chips and salsa (or just salsa), although my mac n cheese intake did drastically decline. So while I definitely have learned the value of portion control, it is not all that beneficial to cut out Cheetos completely. 


3) I can't think of another reflection so here's a story...During the first winter at our new/current house, when I was eight or nine, there was a HUGE snowstorm. The snow in my backyard was up to my thighs and there were super tall drifts along the fence that were well above my waist. I was playing in one of these snow drifts with my Dad nearby. Keep in mind that it was snowing so heavily that I could barely see my Dad even though he was only standing a few feet away. Also, keep in mind that I have never had a really good handle on keeping my imagination from influencing my perception of reality. Anyway, I had been climbing onto the fence and jumping off into the mountain of snow below. I did this again but this time my Dad began yelling at me in an old man voice. Because the snow was impairing my vision, I thought that I had fallen onto the other side of the fence and that it was my grumpy neighbor who was yelling at me. My Dad then began to kick me repeatedly and shout, "Get out of my yard! This is MY YARD! GET OUTTA HERE!" 


In tears, I was shrieking "DADDY! DADDY HELP ME!" and thrashing around in the snow, trying blindly to find the fence so I could throw myself over it back into the safety of my own yard. Eventually, my Dad realized that I was not joking along with him and was in fact not laughing, but crying hysterically. 


He stopped kicking me and asked, "What's wrong?"


"Dad? Is that you?"


"Yeeeah...who else would I be?"


"I...don't know."


"Okay. Let's go inside."


And so ended one of the most terrifying events of my life.