Selfish Blogging

Tonight, I was at my weekly get-together-to-sing-a-little-and-talk-A-LOT night with my girlfriends. It was the first time we've gotten together since before Christmas, and it was great. It's our "singing practice," but we didn't even sing a single note tonight. We talked, and laughed, and relished in the beauty of away-from-home-and-kids time.

Four of us are pregnant, and listening to the two that are still in their first trimester made me SO GRATEFUL to have those 13 weeks of you know what behind me. All night vomit fests should be enough to force every woman to never have a second child, but somehow we forget.

One of my so-miserable-she-hasn't-washed-her-hair-in-five-days friends asked me how in the world I manage to keep working out when I'm pregnant. Honestly, when I wasn't feeling good for those few months, working out was the only thing that made me feel better.

A few nights ago, I was feeling sorry for myself. I had just watched Julie & Julia and was wondering why in the world I even write this silly fitness blog. I definitely don't have the knowledge or skills MizFit has, or the organization SimpleMom has, or the 365-day plan Julie Powell had.

But tonight, after talking to my lovely friends, I realized why I blog. I've started and failed at a lot of things in life. I've dreamed big dreams I've yet to accomplish. But I've somehow mastered the art of fitting fitness into my occasionally chaotic life. If I accomplish NOTHING else in a day, I can almost always (as long as the last two weeks don't count) say that I exercised in some way. And somehow, blogging about it keeps me motivated and accountable.

So for those of you who stop by and read what I have to say, thank you! YOU are my inspiration! I can't wait to share 2010 with you!

Life AFTER the Freshman 15

It's no secret that I hate missing a workout. I'm the type who plans my day around my workouts, not my workouts around my day. Signing The Boy up for preschool really threw me for a loop. I had to re-arrange my workout schedule to accommodate his new schedule. Preschool would not change her schedule for me. (Rude, no?) In the normal, not-stay-at-home-mom world, people have to actually arrange workouts around other commitments. What a concept!

Working out has just become a normal, routine part of my daily life. It has been for several years, but it wasn't always. Though I've always enjoyed physical activity, before joining the gym after gaining the Missionary-Woman-30 (on top of the Freshwoman 15 I'd gained three years earlier), I was definitely just a sporadic worker-outer. My daily trek to and from campus had to count for something, right?

I have fond memories of college (and of Finnish pastries on my mission). From those years, however, I have actually very few memories of working out. My freshman year, some roommates and I joined a kickboxing class. We laughed at each other as we fumbled our way through it, but if something more fun was happening on kickboxing night, we'd skip the workout in a heartbeat. My first date with my now-husband was actually a 3-mile run (that almost killed me) as he was training for his first marathon. But we all know that the run wasn't just a run. Any exercise I did in college was more for the social benefits than the physical.

If I could go back, would I work out more? No way! I'm glad I had that time in life to socialize, be crazy, eat junk food, and occasionally fit in a workout with friends. I was in a completely different season of life, with very little worry about my physical health. I'm glad I wasn't obsessing over every slice of pizza-brownie-vending machine purchase. I enjoyed life. I was happy. I honestly barely noticed that the pounds were creeping on. I was too busy!

My life is completely different now than it was back then. I had so many outlets as a student that I really didn't need to set aside ME time. Everything in my life was about ME. I had no idea how different life as a mom would be. I only thought about dressing my perfectly behaved children in the cutest clothes, and wearing them on my hip as I would wear any new accessory. I didn't realize that in reality, NOTHING would be about ME anymore. Honestly, my workout is just about the only thing. So even if it means waking up at the crack o' dawn to get it, I'm going to get it. I can't live without it. As my kids get older, and my schedule more and more is merely a reflection of their schedule, I will still find a way to fit exercise in. I have to.

When I joined the gym 6 1/2 years ago, I knew I was making a lifetime commitment. So now that life has changed (as it always does), I'm not going to let the routine slip. Sure, I'm changing from working my life around my workouts. But I knew that one day my kids would start growing up, and I'd have to fit my workouts around my life. And I guess I'm OK with that. As I learned in college, living is really what it's all about. Exercising just helps me live better.