Rather than doing a resolution at the beginning of the year, I have always done one on my birthday. A birthday just seems like a good time to have an inventory of the past year and set some goals for the next year of life. Thirty-four was a great year. I was pregnant for half of it and had my second daughter. I was finally approved to sit for the LCSW exam here in California, a goal that I have been working towards for the past SIX years!
With so many positive things to be thankful for, there really is nothing else that I “needed” for my birthday. When I started thinking about my goals for the next year, I found myself thinking a lot about health and wellness. After working in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital for the past seven years, I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. I have seen people on medication lists as long as my arm and I have seen patients coming back for their second or third open heart surgeries. To put it bluntly, these things scare the shit out of me. I do not want to be a passive participant in life. I don’t want to sit around waiting for death to come knocking at my door because I am too fat, lazy and tired to do anything about it.
So how do I avoid becoming one of these sick people? Well, we all know what we are supposed to do. Eat right, exercise, don’t drink/smoke etc… But putting into practice is another thing. They say that it takes 21 days to make something a habit. That’s just 3 weeks. A seemingly short time in the scope of time we are on this Earth.
My plan has been to exercise at the gym twice a week and walk my dog at twice a week. So far I have been doing pretty good. Now, mid you, I was not raised in a family where exercise was modeled or encouraged. My parents are not sports lovers and we were not the family who went on daily walks together after dinner or spent our vacations hiking. As a result, I do not enjoy exercise. In fact, I loathe it. Mostly because I suck at it. I tried a handful of things like basketball and volleyball but never stuck with anything long enough to actually like it. But this is something that I do not want to pass along to my children. I want to do the opposite with them. I want them to like physical activity and to discover their talents in this arena. Our oldest is very physically active. She loves gymnastics, swimming and running. Like her father, she uses exercise as an outlet for her energy and before she figures out that exercise is work, I want her to be so in love with it, that she makes it a part of her life.
As a 35 year old, it is difficult to power through a workout or class when you don’t love it. I find myself watching the clock to see how much time is left. The only workout that I have every truly looked forward to do was Krav Maga. If you haven’t heard of it, you should check out this link to learn more http://www.kravmaga.com
Other than forcing myself to workout and trying to enjoy it, I have started making green smoothies everyday for the family. I got a Blendtec for my birthday and it has really been fantastic. You can learn more about this amazing tool here http://www.blendtec.com Even our two year old loves her smoothies “with lettuce” in it.
I have a lot of faith that I will be able to maintain these two changes I have made because the end goal is really a gift to my family. The gift of my not becoming a burden on them is the best gift that I could ever give.
Unfiltered Mommy 
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