The First Step

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” - Lao-tzu

My single step was walking into the gym last night and writing a check I can’t afford. I need to exercise. I need to feel healthier and have more energy. One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to exercise. A lot of people resolve to lose weight or to make drastic lifestyle changes. I know that is a naïve way to approach this. My goal is simply to add exercise into my weekly (if not daily) routine. However, this hasn’t been an easy goal to achieve.

As all of our friends love to point out, we are very busy. We spend a lot of time with out of town family and friends. We try to make time for activities for just us with J as often as possible. We attempt to pursue our own hobbies (even if it is not as often as we’d like). All of this leaves us with little to no “free time.” However, once you decide something is critically important, it is amazing where you can find little niches of time. Taking care of your health is obviously one of the most important things in life. To not make time for it is foolish and we are trying to rectify that now.

Earlier this year we made a commitment to start eating better. We’ve done pretty good by and large. We can still do better. We also made a commitment to exercise. We’ve not done as well in this area. So, after much deliberation and conversation, we joined the gym. My rationale is that if I am writing them a check each month, I will go. Additionally, they have a pool which J is extremely excited about so he will encourage us to go because he will want to be in the pool as often as possible. Once he turns five, they also have an athletic club for kids which will be good for him. I never want him to fall into the childhood obesity trap that so many kids these days find themselves in thanks, in large part, to convenience foods and high-sugar foods. We try so hard to limit his intake of these items but it is nearly impossible to regulate everything. So, the kids’ activities will become increasingly important as he gets older to keep him in shape and keep him healthy.

So, my journey of a thousand miles toward feeling better, living longer, and being healthier hopefully starts here. I look forward to the challenge and am trying to maintain a positive attitude despite my past experiences with exercise. This time it is going to be different!

Spring is in the air

Every year I dread the arrival of spring. The yard needs to be mowed. The flowers need to be planted. My allergies go crazy. It starts to get hot. There really is nothing about spring and summer that I find particularly appealing.

I love cold weather and snow and “dreary” looking days. I love Christmas and Halloween and New Year’s Eve and all the fun they have to offer. Spring and summer really have nothing to offer in comparison.

However, I have a son who loves spring and summer. He loves that it is still daylight when I am trying to get him to start thinking about going to bed (he sees it as an excuse not to abide). He loves warm weather and playing outside. He loves swimming and running in the grass. For these reasons, I try to love spring. I try but I’ve just not quite made it there yet.

My Favorite Color

During my life I’ve gone through several favorite colors as I’ve changed and grown and matured. I’ve loved red and black, silver and purple. However, for many years now I’ve settled on green as my favorite color. I like so many of the shades and love the feelings it invokes. It seems fitting to talk about this color this week since it is the National Color of Ireland. Happy St. Patty’s Day!

With Spring just around the corner, it is the color of life and the environment and invigoration. Green is usually associated with positive attributes like a green thumb or finding greener pastures. A green light gives you the go-ahead.

Green is a restful color. Is it the color of my birthstone – the beautiful emerald. It is the color of the best apples in the world – the Granny Smith. It is the color of a mint leaf, a Christmas tree, jade, rolling hills, and my eyes. It symbolizes hope, renewal, and peace. Green is said to be the color of harmony and balance.

If your favorite color is supposed to speak to you, I hope I can glean some of its hope, renewal, and peace for my life. I hope I can carry around the images it conjures to brighten my days.

Age is a State of Mind

I was discussing people who are our age with Doug and how I am often astounded at people who are our age but look so much older. Not our friends but just people we encounter from time to time. I look at our group of friends and think we all look relatively equal in age. However, others our age surprise me sometimes when I find out "she's only a year older than me?!?"
I've never understood those women (or men, for that matter) who let their age define them. I didn't get overly exuberant when I reached 21. I didn't mourn when I passed 29. I'm not depressed at the idea of 40 "looming on the horizon" (as some might put it). I've also never understood the idea of cosmetic surgery or even the new processes like Botox. I know what drives these big money businesses - pure vanity. I'm just astounded at how many women are susceptible to such ideas.
I will say though, as I am starting to show signs of my age, that I am also amazed at women who do nothing to preserve their youth. I'm always a little surprised at women who wear no makeup - even though just a little lip gloss and powder would make them look ten years younger - or those who haven't figured out that liquid foundation actually highlights those little wrinkles around their eyes instead of camouflaging them.
I like to think I'm not terribly vain but I guess the fact that I won't go out to get the mail without my lipstick on means that I really am. The funny thing is - it isn't really about who will see me but about how I feel about myself. And the even funnier thing is that I feel better about myself, even with 40 looming on that horizon, than I can ever remember feeling. Even with those extra 60 pounds I found since college. It's funny how age can give us some perspective. Perhaps older is wiser!

A Little J Magic... or a Little White Lie

J loves to do magic like his favorite character from The Wiggles, Greg. He wiggles his fingers in front of the television when I am starting a movie in the DVD player, says Wiggle Waggle, and calls that "A Little J Magic" when it starts. His favorite magic trick is to make things disappear. This requires some audience participation, somewhat unbeknownst to him. He holds up his Magic Sheet (any blanket, handkerchief, restaurant napkin, etc.), says the magic words (usually Wiggle Waggle or Abracadabra) and the object disappears (which really means someone in the "audience" hides it from his view when he pulls down the sheet). He's been doing this trick for some time now and was shocked when it worked the first time. He's still a little shocked when it works each time. He's made things disappear as small as a penny or a salt shaker all the way up to making me disappear. While J has caught on that we are involved, he still gets mad if he actually sees us moving the object. He'll say, "Don't do that. I'm going to make it disappear."
Last night we called him at his grandparents' to check on him. He was having fun playing with a box of "new" toys (toys that belonged to me when I was his age that mom and dad just got out of the attic for him). He then said he wanted to do some magic. Mom said he grabbed the closest Magic Sheet, ran into the living room (alone), and started screaming Wiggle Waggle! He did this several times before coming back to GranMa to announce that his magic wasn't working. We told him magic has to have an audience in order to work. Really, is there any harm in little lies when you are a kid? Doesn't it make things just a little more fun... and magical?