Reading. Writing. Running. Yoga. Repeat.

Mike got home from London late Friday night. After holding it all together for nearly seven days, I marked his return with a raging headache, and by Saturday afternoon I had a fever. There was finally another responsible adult in the house and my body surrendered to the exhaustion. Thankfully there was no flu relapse. It was just a friendly reminder that I’m not superwoman.

I’m going to a restaurant grand-opening party tomorrow night with my sister-in-law. Of course, I decided I have nothing to wear (warning sign!), so I went to the mall on Sunday afternoon to buy something (oh no!). The mall was packed with holiday shoppers and I didn’t like anything I saw in the stores (good!), but I felt like I had to come home with something (bad!). I ended up buying one shirt (compulsive purchase!), but I knew I was going to return it by the time I got in the car to drive home (buyer’s remorse!).

Being a shopaholic is almost as exhausting as being alone with my kids for a week.

Was this my relapse rock bottom? Maybe. Just to be safe, I’m going back into rehab for the holidays. I will shop for what I must and buy if I find something I absolutely love (on budget!), but there will be no more mall cruising.

I re-read “Rehab 101” from September where I reflected on my original one month shopping freeze. What I feel now – anxiety, stress and frustration – is exactly what I felt then. And what made me feel better then is the same today – reading, writing, and running. And now yoga. Going for an afternoon run would have been a much better idea than racing around the mall like a crazy person. I guess practice will make perfect for this shopping addict.

Here’s my new treatment plan to tackle holiday-induced, exhaustion-inspired and anxiety-riddled shopaholic urges:

·For starters, I’m reading “Anthropology of an American Girl” for my next book club meeting. It’s over 600 pages and I have three weeks to read it. In mommy time, that’s like having a few hours. I’m in trouble, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

·I’m writing as often as I can. It makes me feel good. Period.

·I’m signing up for another 5K in December, and I plan to run a 5-miler in February. I’d love to find a 10K to run in March or April but I haven’t found anything local yet. The Runaway Mama is literally running away!

·I will go to yoga every Monday morning…except for next week. I have a colonoscopy follow-up appointment with the gastroenterologist. That should be fun.

As for the new shirt, it’s definitely going back. I went shopping in my own closet on Sunday (after the dreadful mall trip) and found a perfectly adorable outfit to wear to the restaurant party. As it turns out, I didn’t need to go shopping. Surprise, surprise…

Reading. Writing. Running. Yoga. Repeat. Wish me luck, my friends.