I don’t usually talk about my involvement in Sweet Adelines. But, this group is my drug. It is my escape from the every day stuff of making a living and dealing with life and integrating BTD.

This last weekend we had our annual retreat. We holed up in a hotel and did intensive work on our two competition songs we are preparing for Regional Competition in April.

This year we had 43 women participate. It was a great weekend. The work was grueling, but the camaraderie and sisterhood that comes from these weekends was priceless.

I made some BTD observations during this weekend. I roomed with two gals who are under 40. One of the girls suffers from lupus. She tries hard to keep the disease from flaring. She tries to follow her Doctor’s diet instructions. But this weekend she happened to be suffering from a sinus infection. I suffered from her snoring. I discussed my involvement with BTD with her. She wondered what her blood type is. We talked about wheat, since wheat seemed to be the main ingredient of the meals served to us. She mused about what would happen if she stopped wheat consumption for a couple of weeks. I encouraged her to try, since odds are that she is a blood type that shouldn’t be eating modern wheat. (DUH !)

My other young roommate had an array of prescription drugs lined up on the bathroom counter. There was Fosomax, Premarin, Zirtec and something else (I forget). But, there were too many drugs for such a young woman. She knows she is gluten intolerant and does not eat wheat. She talked about how her Doctor wanted her to take calcium supplements, and that she used to take a whole lot of vitamins. She said she felt a lot better when she took the vitamins. It seems it’s a lot easier for her to take these drugs and deal with their side effects than to take supplements. I didn’t press the subject as I finished swallowing my baggie full of vitamins and supplements. At least she doesn't eat wheat.

Our weekend was a package deal, so meals were included and we were at the mercy of the hotel as to what was served. I saw the direct effects of food on the chorus after the lunch meal. They had served a chicken fettuccini with Caesar salad and rolls. The heavy cream and wheat in that meal turned the whole chorus into a big sleepy crowd (okay, not me, I only ate the Caesar salad and an apple). The poor director couldn’t keep anyone on track for at least an hour into that afternoon’s rehearsal. It was very frustrating for her.

I did pretty well avoiding the really big avoids during the weekend. I probably had more wine than I should have on Saturday night. I did let some wheat sneak in at the Sunday breakfast. They didn’t have a decent protein choice, and I got lazy with my resolve, being as I was quite tired from very little sleep (from all the snoring from my roomates) for two nights.

But, the weekend was wonderful. It was very good for my soul. I’ll let my body recover and get back to normal over the next few days.