What’s on your List?

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I look outside and I see snow.  Dirty snow, sandy streets, bare trees.  But it’s March 18th- the Spring Equinox is only two days away.  Only two days until the worst Ontario winter that I’ve ever experienced officially comes to a calendar end.  Time will tell if Mother Nature gets the memo.

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December 20th’s nasty ice storm.

So with all that said, it’s time to look ahead to nicer weather and make a plan to get motivated and stay active.  It’s no secret that I am a huge believer in staying fit to stay healthy.  I’ve written about it many times:

Here are the events I’ve registered for this year.  I hope that my list can inspire you to make your own list:

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What’s on your list?

The Shoulds

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***This post was originally written as a Guest Blog post for Momstown.ca.***

I’ve recently been corresponding with another female chiropractor, whom I worked with long, long ago…. I mean, before-I-was-even-a-chiro long ago.  She has just had her first baby, and now she’s trying to navigate the challenge that is being a working mom.

“Often it feels a lot like you should be able to manage it all,” she said in a recent email.  And that, my friends, sums up the motherhood condition known as “The Shoulds”.

  • I should be able to work as much as I used to.
  • I should be able to wear my pre-pregnancy clothes.
  • I should be able to smile and laugh and play with my baby all day.
  • I should be able to get up early.
  • I should be able to keep my house clean.
  • I should be able to do it all.

Guess what mamas?  You can’t.  Motherhood is an all-consuming, priority-shifting, time-altering new reality.  So, what’s a girl to do?  Well, you have to choose what’s going to change.  You can choose sleep or fitness or work or socializing or housework or….. see what I mean?  There are simply not enough hours in the day to do it all, always.  My choice is less sleep (okay, far less sleep), part-time work, and a perpetually dirty kitchen floor; it wouldn’t have worked for the childless me, but it works for the mama in me.  And I’m slowly recovering from “The Shoulds”.

My motherhood experience began on January 22nd, 2009.

My motherhood experience began on Jan 22nd, 2009.

I Wish We Had Done This Years Ago

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The hot tub we purchased this past Fall has become a major feature in our lives as of late.  And since the mandate of my blog is to “talk about things that are important to me” and “be a source of information and opinion on the adventures of health, fitness, and parenthood”, the hot tub qualifies.  I’ve been trying to think of a way to write about it without coming across like a used-car salesman- but that seems to be the only way:

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Are you a hot tub person?  It seems you either “are” or you “aren’t”, and up until this Fall I was definitely “aren’t”.  But that’s all changed…. and since I’m a ‘convincer‘ by nature, let me tell you why:

  • It gives my husband and I nightly unplugged, distraction-free, catch-up-on-the-day time.  When we were considering this purchase, a friend told me that “many family talks will take place there”; she was right.  With young children, and date nights that are few-and-far-between, this gives us a great chance to “escape” into our backyard.
  • Our kids love it.  We bundle them up in their fuzzy robes and winter boots and make the trek down to the hot tub every weekend.  They like to change the colour of the lights and turn on the waterfall feature….. but mostly they like to snuggle in and enjoy the warmth and the fresh air.  Quality.  Family.  Time.
  • Recovery!  After a tough Crossfit workout or a long run, nothing beats the hot tub for loosening muscles up and helping you sleep.

My husband has been trying to persuade me on a hot tub for years.  I was worried about the maintenance (virtually none), the monthly cost (very affordable, as hot tubs are very energy-efficient now), and the safety (a lockable cover)- all of which are non-issues now.  In fact, I wish we had done this years ago.

So perhaps the message of this post isn’t to sell you on hot tubs, but rather to sell you on quality time.  And doing-it-now.  And going-for-it.  And you-only-live-once.

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*** Thanks to our friend Jay Pritchard from Boldt Pools & Spas for all of his hot tub help!