i have vacation disease

I am a huge proponent of aging; I refuse to buy into mainstream culture's demonizing of the process and how it supposedly makes you look or feel... but I have landed on the absolute worst part about getting older, with a large measure of regret, longing and resignation:

When you're over 30 and you go on vacation, behaving like a teenager sets you back a good lump.

This statement is likely unfair to teenagers mostly; what I mean or remember may differ from the perspective of someone whose adolescent passage was more respectable and sober than mine. Although I suppose one characteristic of the indiscretions of any youth is our meager ability to make circumspect choices for ourselves, ones that serve to benefit us and those around us for the foreseeable future. This is the fictional utopia to which I return when I'm on holiday of any sort. The rules are suspended, the nights are more suspenseful, the consequences be damned.

Until the damn-ing catches up with you the next morning, the next day, even two days later and - here's the saddest SADdest part for me - you get sick. Not throwing-up-sick - maybe a cold, or digestive upset, or headaches, constipation, sore joints, I think it's pretty much anything that's remotely ailed you in the past. You've danced over your limits one time too many, and, because wisdom follows age (so they say), you begin to ask yourself if it's actually worth it to pretend you can handle it all.

As it is currently December 10th and I am just now recovering from the debauchery of Thanksgiving and being sicker than I have been in decades, I think I can actually say, for myself, the charade is no longer worth it. The moderation my practice preaches is actually for a good reason, maybe 1,000 solid reasons. So I'm compiling a list of the best advice I've ever received that draws a realistic but useful picture of moderation. Something to remember for the winter holidays.

Oh, and in the spirit of recovery, here's a nice link on superfoods that can help your body get back online (make sure to click on parts 2 & 3 as well):

http://www.bewellbuzz.com/superfoods/16-superfoods-you-should-know-about-part-1/

1. You can have a piece of cake, but you don't have to finish it.
2. Take a deep breath before diving into the buffet. Do you really have to have a little of everything, or just your favorites?
3. Eat your vegetables!
4. Drink a glass of water between every alcoholic beverage (especially one before you get in your car to drive home).
5. Bao he wan (It's a Chinese herbal formula for indigestion and food stagnation, ask your friendly acupuncturist...)
6. Take your microgreens the morning after (see the link for superfoods above).
7. Exercise. It regulates your metabolism, your blood sugar, your appetite and elimination.
8. Alcohol is sugar too - if you find it hard to digest either, make a choice between the fruity cocktail or the sprinkle-y cookies.
9. Get good sleep.
10. Meditate. Calm mind, healthy body.
11. If you have adverse reactions to dairy, gluten, meat, sugar, etc., have a small meal before you go to a party. It'll ward off some hunger and temptation, and invite in some satisfaction and health.