The cage door swung open today and I strolled out into the sunshine. Strolled, then jogged, then tanked after a mile, but that’s fine. It is a first step. I also skittered through the exercises workout my personal trainer gave me – squats, lunges, active stretching, bicep curls. One or two sets, with little or no resistance. Nothing too difficult, but let’s face it I am out of shape, so this is all a step in the right direction. To be moving at all is a good thing.
And, over the last few days, I spent an hour or two outside every day walking, while admiring Niagara Falls, no less. My two daughters, my sister and I traveled to Niagara for three days of the National Cheerleading Championships and between events, my sister and I would walk and walk and walk (with the occasional beer and nacho stop). That’s a start.
Now, the question is, can I build a regular workout time into my daily routine? Routine? What routine? Apart from driving my kids to and from their scheduled activities, my days never have the same shape. I morph from lawyer to mom to writer to household engineer according to the demands at hand, and as I pointed out in my last post, taking care of myself doesn`t typically top the to do list. Maybe it should. Regular workouts at nine a.m., I promised in my last post. Sigh. I make a lot of promises that I don`t keep. That`s prime working time, my inner lawyer says. Also, the best time to grocery shop, says the household manager. And half the time the kids forget something or you husband is home needing attention, reminds the Permanently On Call spouse and mother. What about me, cries my inner athlete, you expect me to run five kilometers up and down hills in ten weeks without any training? You expect me to carry you through this long list of chores without any basic maintenance? Yeah. Nine a.m. tomorrow morning it is. After that, I can tweek the schedule, but I have to start somewhere, no?