Caving... In A Good Way!

Where I live, it's cider season.  The trees have yet to start turning, but the cider is already being pressed, the donuts already being made, and the apples already being dipped in caramel.

There is this incredible old Cider Mill nearby, one that I've been going to my whole life.  I have gone every year, at least once, as long as I can remember.  Except last year.

Last year, I let the cider season slip silently away, while a wicked war waged in my brain.  The battle between my willpower and my little enemy (formerly known as my little buddy.)

The truth is, last year, I let my eating disorder prevent me from enjoying one of the few traditions my family has..... I let my eating disorder keep me from visiting the Cider Mill and tasting even a sip of that sweet cider.  I didn't even let myself stop in to see the wheel, or the cider press, or the river with the plump little ducks, or the conveyer belt of fresh donuts (that I'm allergic to anyway, but still love the smell!)  I tortured myself by driving by several times during the season, but my eating disorder never let me stop in for a visit.

This year?  This year I'm hoping to stop in on a regular basis.  I don't care how expensive the cider is, the freedom to drink it is worth the price.  And that started today.  It's been a very long and tiring two weeks, and there's at least one more week to go till the school year settles in.  So that fresh caramel apple covered in peanuts that I ate on the way home today?  It was delicious.  And that freshly pressed cider sitting in my refrigerator?  I can't wait to have a glass of it with breakfast!