I will soak it all in. I will make it ALL the best times!

Right around lunch today, my eyes were drawn to a photo that's on my desk.

This one.

 

 

 

 

It's been here for just under 2 years. I see if everyday.
It makes me smile. It brings back great memories.

But today, today it did something a little different.
It made me sad. It made me cry.

This was taken not that long ago, on a family vacation, and here we are almost 2 years later and I'm wondering where my babies went. Where the time went. How they've gotten so big.

I text my husband the photo and said what I was feeling. He sent back some encouraging words, but all I could text back was "I've already missed the best times!!!"

And I want to post here that I TAKE THAT BACK.
And I have to keep telling myself that.

I might have missed being home with my babies while they were much younger, I might have missed watching them grow every day while I was working out of the home, and I might have missed so much more that I don't even know...but I'm here to promise that as long as I'm still working FT (plus some), I will not miss any more time that I AM home. My 3 babies will be my center of attention. I won't miss the time i do have with them.

And then, when that day comes that I can be home with them, I won't take it for granted. I won't complain. I won't miss time. I will soak it up, knowing I'm now doing what I've ALWAYS wanted to do. Be home with my kids. Get the daily household chores done while they are at school. Get dinner started. Have my husband home for dinner...not just for bed time. Not have to rush home from work to get them from the bus to have them do their homework to get them to activities. I don't want the rush. I want to enjoy. I want to soak it all in. I will make it ALL the best times!

And while I'm not there yet, I can feel it. I know it's so much closer than it's ever been. And until that day comes, I will enjoy the time I do have now. I will be more patient with them and myself and my husband. I will soak it all in.

I will make it ALL the best times! :)

 



What I learned from my "Rest Week"...

I pulled a muscle in my back shoveling snow over a week ago, didn't rest right away, and it got worse. It got so bad I couldn't exercise, so I rested a couple days, then decided to call the Chiro. She told me to rest until I saw her next - a week after first seeing her.

For someone who LOVES working out, the words "No exercise for a week" were something I dreaded hearing. But, even though it's what I needed to heal my back, I didn't realize at the time that i really NEEDED a week off from exercise. For someone who does one program, then the next, then the next - and even dreads rest DAYS, I found a new love for rest WEEKS. And here's why...

The continuous exercise we do day in and day out ISN'T what gets us the results we are striving for. It's the rest inbetween those workouts that do it for us. As mentioned in this Huffington Post article, "The truth about recovery is that you never really recover. What we really do in hard workouts is apply a stimulus that elevates our heart rate, breaks down muscle fibers, causes the adrenal glands to secrete the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol and generally tells our body that the status quo won't cut it anymore. The "getting fitter" part -- the body's response to that stimulus -- comes afterwards."

So basically, all the hard work you put in at the gym or out running or swimming or training or whatever it is you are doing, is great, but if you don't rest afterwards you aren't giving your body a chance to repair any tissue damage, strengthen the heart and other muscles, or making itself more efficient than before. Then the next day, we go do it again. Since the body doesn't grow stronger or build endurance WHILE you're exercising, you really need the period after your workout for rest so your body can make those important changes. It's vital.

Another article mentions that your fitness can even "plateau or decline if you continue to push yourself without recovery." How many of you reading this have hit a plateau in your weight, so you start working our harder and longer? And it still doesn't help? Try resting :) Another reason could be that you aren't eating enough - but I'll save that for another blog ;)

So even though resting is great, and our body needs it to be its best, that doesn't mean you spend your rest day or rest week on the couch eating junk food. No, sorry, that's not gonna fly. ;) It means you walk instead of rest, stretch instead of hardcore cardio moves, and stick to your healthy lifestyle. Rest days do not equal Cheat days. :) Just wanted to make that clear!

This recovery week is just what I needed, and now that I've read up on it, experienced it and know more about it, I plan on incorporating recovery weeks into my schedule. I feel new again, i feel refreshed and i am FULL of energy to get back to a routine! :)