I went to Stagecoach which is a weekend-long country music festival. The first night I drank way too much. Lots of Sex on the Beach and stumbling. The second day was Hangover Day. We walked around to all the different camps, visiting different friends and family in the blistering heat. By the time we made it to our spot in front of the main stage (they called it the Mane Stage – you know, like a horses’ mane? Cute, huh?) I was feeling really unwell. But after the sun went down and my body temperature lowered to a reasonable level, I began to perk up and had a great time listening to Sugarland and Keith Urban. Sugarland was by far my favorite, they were amazing!
The third day was much better. I’d recovered mostly, hydrated often, and we didn’t do so much dang walking. But then I drank too much again. I don’t regret it. I had a great time. Dancing and singing our little hearts out to Jason Aldeen, Brooks n Dunn, and Toby Keith. I lost my voice, combined alcohol, flirted with boys, played an embarrasingly horrible game of beer pong before finally falling into a stupor when we got home at 2:30 in the morning.
But, oh, today.
Today I feel like death. I actually feel like a 90-year-old woman with a variety of health issues that involve failing organs and smoker’s lungs. My heart beats at an erratic pace, my stomach hates me, my head is fuzzy, I feel like I may start wheezing at any moment, and my body aches in a way that goes far beyond sore. I feel like I’ve been beaten. Severely.
I can’t imagine everyone who went to Stagecoach feels this way. Because they were all 21. And I’m not. My 26-year-old body doesn’t recover at the same pace nowadays. In horse terms, I’m at more of a trot than a full gallop.
But now, as I let my eyelids (that feel as though they weigh about 20 pounds each) slowly fall, I drift off to the twangy sounds of Coors Light, Wranglers, and patriotism bordering on insanity. Because that is the American way.
'Night, y'all.
UPDATE: My mom read this post and was sort of appalled by my mention of Sex on the Beach. I meant the alcoholic beverage. Hence it being capitalized. I didn't capitalize it cuz I find it an important thing to do in the middle of the desert where it doesn't make much since anyway, I capitalized it cuz it's a name. Of a drink. So, just to be clear, drink. Not lots of actual sex on some made up beach. Drink.
-Age
