"5 Days and Counting"

For 5 days (one day off on Sunday) I have set my alarm, got up at 6:30, put my tennis shoes on and went for my walk.  Today my Rhodesian, Kilty, joined me.  She is my new walk buddy.  It was exhilarating, refreshing and spiritually uplifting.  I felt great.  The air was cool and brisk.  The sky was filled with soft reds, yellows, and hues of purple.  The birds were singing good morning and I just walked, took deep breathes, and thanked God for this beautiful morning.   I am really enjoying starting my day this way.

In my walking I have come to some conclusions.  First exercise shouldn't be something you dread, you should enjoy it and look forward to it.  I believe if you don't then you are doing the wrong exercise.  There are so many ways to fit exercise into your life you just have to try them all out and see which ones you enjoy.  If you dread doing something, or feel it is a chore then you won't stick with it.  If it makes you feel good after doing it, then it WILL become a habit.  Eventually I will put running back into my exercise program but for now I am just enjoying the walking.  The greatest gift I have given myself in the past 5 days is me-time.  This gifts keeps giving back to me 100 times.  My morning mood is calmer, happier and overall just better.  I feel peaceful and relaxed.   My family is enjoying this zen like morning mommy.

To keep me on track and focused for the next 21 days, I created an exercise chart.  My children are really getting a kick out of it.  They check it after school to make sure Mommy put her sticker on.  I borrowed some stickers from my 8 year old's 1,000 motivational sticker book.  She didn't mind.  I took only the smiley faces but she said I could take 2 a week of the word stickers "Great Job, Super Star, A++, etc..." for my chart.  I thanked her.  Maybe my goal setting and chart keeping will show my children that tracking your progress with stickers isn't just for kids, moms and dads like superstar stickers, smiley faces and star stickers too.

"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."

Anonymous