The whole running thing is still very new to me and I am still working on finding "the balance". You know what I am talking about right? The balance between church, family, work, friends, home, and then to add in fitness, well it is extremely challenging. I wish there was a simple way to make it all work but as I am finding out this is not the case.
I knew that this past Sunday was supposed to be a running day for me, so Sat night I went to bed at a decent time and set my alarm for 6am. I do not need to leave for church until 9:30 so this would give me plenty of time to run, take a shower, make breakfast, get the kids ready and be off by 9:30am. Around 3am dead to the world I hear this little whisper next to my bed. "mom, I had an accident I am going to the basement to sleep" "ok sweetie, love you" I reply. It was not until the alarm went off at 6am that I realized that if my boy was sleeping in the basement next to my treadmill I would not be able to run. I sat up and contemplated what I should do, it was raining and cold outside so I knew running outside was NOT going to happen. Should I wake him up for the day, should I try to move him to my bed, do I let him sleep and just run after church? I chose to run after church. After church the sun was shinning and although still rather cold I thought running outside might be a good idea but just as I was thinking this my son says to me "mom can we go swimming at the YMCA today" The other boys squeal at the idea of going swimming and so I thought ok sure get to the YMCA work out for 1.5 hrs, and then let them swim for 1.5 hrs everyone will be happy. To their extreme delight we ate lunch got ready (which took FOREVER) and then headed out. I should have realized when I pulled up in the parking lot and there were not that many cars there that something was up. I walked the kids in and asked when the child watch would open, the lady replied "oh sweetie on Sundays the child watch is closed" Ok so I knew this and have know this for the last 8 months that I have had this membership only for some reason this particular day it slipped my mind. Still thinking positive I say to the kids ok we swim for 1 hr and then we go home so mommy can run. The kids swim and have a great time for the next 60 min and when their time was up I rushed to get them showered and dressed. On the way home the sun is no longer shinning and the temp is dropping so I decide the treadmill is the way to go. I made the kids dinner and told them that I wanted 1hr by myself with no interruptions. I let them know that if they needed anything they were to ask daddy. I flew down the steps to hop on the treadmill. I got in about 6 min. before the first interruption happened, my oldest wanted to ask me if he could go outside. I was annoyed and said "uhhh helllooo you walked right past your father just so you could come bug me? Go talk to your dad" About 3 min. after that my youngest came down..."mommy mommy mommy I need the little people animals for Noah's Ark" I do not like to talk while running but I muster "J they are in the blue tub in the closet" He proceeds to walk around as if he has never been in the basement before in his life asking what closet. He finally finds the closet and proceeds to pull random tubs of toys out (not the blue tub) I end up getting so annoyed I get off the treadmill and help him. I now am pissy. Every attempt to run today was squashed. Upset that between church and the pool I had given my husband over 5 hrs of alone time to get done what he needed to do, upset that I took the children to the pool to give them something they wanted and yet none of them could reciprocate and give me more then 6 min. before interrupting me. I only got in 1 mile before I gave up. 1 mile, thats it, thats all I got! My pity party was short lived though because there was one last thing on my to due list for the day... go to the visitation for my friends husband who had just passed away.
Yes, my day did not go as I had planned and yes the one thing I wanted to get accomplished did not happen. (at least the way I had wanted it too) Getting dressed and ready to go to this visitation I had to remind myself that there is a balance that needs to be maintained. Without any one of the things in my life that I am trying to balance I would be devastated. Just like my friend. So my pity party ended and counted my blessings that I have my boys, my husband, my extended family, my church, my friends, my job, and my health. It no longer seemed like just 1 mile and more like alright at least I got in a mile. balancing everything is something that I am not going to learn over night and stuff is going to come up. The laundry is not always going to be done, I might not always get to church on time, the kids might not always have a hot dinner, I might not always get to run more then 1 mile and that is ok. Crap and now I have to stop typing because I only have 8 min. to pick up the kids from school....BALANCE!! (lol)
good job getting in your mile! its hard to balance everything! i once heard someone describe how life goes in rotations...sometimes the focus is on work, sometimes friends, sometimes fitness, etc etc. It makes sense, really. You do the best you can, and shift your needs the following day. I dont know how these "perfect" moms/wives do it. My house will never be "perfect", my car is never shiny and clean, there is always laundry, Im always tripping over toys...I feel like Im always trying to "catch up". I mostly get my workouts in after the kids are asleep. I look forward to my nightime routine...workout, HOT shower, and catch up on dvr. My nights are wild!
ReplyDeleteFirst off Good Job! 1 mile is better than none. I know how you feel, the whole balancing act seems to go out the window most days. This post was a good one to read, it makes me think too. Thanks!
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