The Challenge

It seems to all be piling up lately. My husband lost his job, some of my friends seem a bit too distant, and my kids are going back to school (my second off to kindergarten – I can’t believe it!). I think the hardest thing, really, is that I feel too busy to really sit back and properly assess any of this.

Somehow, in the midst of it all, I am supposed to just keep chugging away busy as ever at work, kids’ activities, responsibilities and all. How am I supposed to manage the situations – or my emotions, for that matter – when I feel like I hardly have time to acknowledge them? Instead, for the moment, I am wallowing. I am feeling sorry for myself. I hate this. I feel like I’m not me.

I sent an email to my dear friend this morning and asked her if the way I am feeling is normal. She assured me it was. But, of course, she’s my friend, so I trust her on every topic except for honest assessments of myself. But then she sent me a link to one of her friend’s blogs and I was comforted (yet saddened) by reading Tears, by Jennifer Griffin-Wiesner. Thank you for sharing, Jennifer. I guess we’re both normal! And we are not alone.

Still, how do I break out of this? How do I slow down enough to evaluate and repair? I know that time alone won’t heal me – that I’ve learned the hard way.

Maybe it is far more than a coincidence that today is the first day in the Cardio Challenge that I have agreed to tackle with friends. We are competing against each other to exceed weekly mileage goals running, rowing and biking. I have been slacking on exercise lately, but I couldn’t resist my friend’s enthusiasm in developing this friendly competition. And I can’t think of a better time to jump back into gear. I know that the endorphins won’t hurt a bit, but better yet, I look forward to using my exercise time as an opportunity to think through these things happening in my life and plan for the next steps ahead.

I am optimistic that it will all be clearer with my running shoes on. And I’m pretty sure that I will find me again somewhere along the road.

Hula Hooping Through Life

I have decided to make exercise part of my life. My first order of business is quitting the gym. That's right - I quit. How can I really be a fit example for my children when going to the gym means dropping them in the childcare? Instead, I am going to find ways to truly integrate exercise into our routine so we will all enjoy and benefit.

Today was a good start. We took a walk to the playground. The older kids walked and I pushed the little guy and picnic lunch in the double stroller. We took the long cut around the pond and then the kids ran through the field and I pushed the stroller across the grass. Let me tell you, pushing a double stroller across an uncut field is better than any exercise machine I've ever tried! At the play ground I pushed the kids on the swings and did a little swinging myself. Back at home we cranked up the music in the back yard and danced and hula hooped. I'm still a pretty good hooper - and my abs loved the hip shaking!

I think this is going to work! I did a little googling and at 120 pounds here's how many calories I would burn doing the following activities for just 20 minutes, according to the Fitness Partner Connection:

• Bicycling: 12-13.9 mph, leisure, moderate effort - 145.4
• Dancing: disco, ballroom, square, line, Irish step, polka - 81.8
• Frisbee: general - 54.5
• Rope Jumping: general, moderate - 181.8
• Swimming: general, leisurely, no laps - 109
• Walk: 2 mph (30 min/mi) - 45.4
• Gardening: weeding - 81.8
• Watering plants, by hand - 45.4
• Child-care: bathing, feeding, etc. - 54.5
• Playing w/kids: vigorous effort - 90.9
• Child games: moderate, hop-scotch, jacks, etc. - 72.7

Compared to the 90-130 calories for the aerobics I used to do, not too shabby! More time with my kids, fitness for the whole family and the same health benefits. I am suddenly really excited about exercise.

I'm off to weed the garden and then gather the troops for a bike ride...