Before you curse me for my incredible better-than-anyone job at parenting, first note that I said "a Part" of my routine. No, this is not a letter to you stating, "Wow, I'm an amazing parent. Look, I work out, look great, and my kid is perfect. You suck." Because that's exactly what we as women always think isn't it? Hey, look at her! She was able to get in and out of the grocery store without pulling out her hair! What does she want, a medal?!
I think that women are amazing. They are always so encouraging and steadfast. Especially mothers! Mothers are flippin' awesome. They push babies out of their vagina's! What?! Mothers clean up people who have pooped on themselves...that's pretty much the nicest thing you can do for anyone. I really don't even have to say anything else. Anyone who volunteers for poop clean-up has got to be either insane, or really in love.
Anyway, I was talking about my exercise routine. I have a little seventeen month old boy. He is so full of energy. He climbs up a full flight of stairs where the steps are half his height, and then turns around and does it again! The kid is insane. His energy is my excuse for having taken some "time off" my work-out routine. Time off really means, "never get back to". I decided today that I want some of that energy that he's got. I want to utilize it. He's a toddler, he's not going to follow any sort of regimen for my exercise. I started working out and he instantly got into all these wooden beads and started stuffing them in his mouth; I'm surprised he didn't go for the knives just for theatrics. I didn't even know those wooden beads existed! Anyway, as a desperate grab for order I included him in the exercise routine. We rolled around on the floor, we walked around the house on all fours, I picked him up and down while doing squats, and we took turns on the pull up bar. The kid was having a blast! And better yet, I was working out. I was moving, my heart rate was going, and I felt good.
Zoom forward five years and my boy is playing soccer. Why can't I run with him? Having a kid could be the healthiest thing for me, if I let it!
When I became a new mother people always used to tell me that I had to "Sleep when you're baby sleeps." It was such good advice! I felt better when I had slept, and I was a better mother if I slept whenever the opportunity arrived. I was tired, so I slept according to my son's schedule. Why can't we, as mother's, apply that principal in other things? Run around when your kid is running around.
I complain about my body a lot these days. I complain about what has happened to it now that I'm a mother. I complain that I'm not able to "get out" like I need to, to exercise. But I think that I need to adjust my mindset. I need to work out in a way that is consistent with my lifestyle. It's good to get out, have a run, and get some "me" time. But, honestly, most of my time is absorbed in my son. If I etch out time in the day to work out, there is no way I'm going to be as fit as I want to be. So, I have to run around with my son. When I go out on a long walk, I will just be all the more fit because I'm carrying a twenty pound kid on my back. I will be all the more healthier because I will eat the carrots I insist my child eats. I will practice better hydration because I will hydrate myself as I hydrate my child. I will be a better person because I'm a mom.
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