This Is Your Sign

Since we had no school today I thought I was going to get a whole bunch of stuff done, but really all I did yesterday and today was drive kids to different play dates and swim practices.

I got almost nothing done yesterday.

Today was not looking much better, and at 9 a.m. I had rationalized skipping going to the Y to swim so I could actually check a few things off the to-do list.

About three weeks ago I declared I was getting my butt back in the pool, and then I set a goal of 30 swims in 30 days.

I made it to 9 consecutive days, and then we had a blizzard and the Y was closed, so I missed a day. And then a couple days after that Number 5 started puking at 4:30 a.m. and she had to stay home from school and I couldn’t leave her home alone or take her into babysitting, so I missed that day, too.

I had gone 10 out of 12 days, and then I don’t remember what happened on day 14, but I didn’t go. Then on day 15 I went to the doctor at Yale and found out for sure how bad the status of my bladder and uterus was and I ran out of time that day. And then on day 16 I was feeling depressed after my stage 3 prolapse diagnosis and I was telling myself, “Well, you’re going to have surgery soon, and then you won’t be allowed in the water, so what’s the point of doing anything now, anyway???” Then Saturday and Sunday my pity party continued, plus I just planned poorly.

Which brings me to today.

Today would have been the sixth consecutive day of doing nothing, so I finally pulled myself up by my  bootstraps,  sucked it up, dropped the kids off at babysitting, and headed to the pool.

The pool is normally pretty empty during the day, so I was looking forward to a nice, relaxing swim without having to really interact with anyone or even share a lane.

I walked into the pool and all my dreams of a swim in solitude were dashed.

I forgot the older kids on the swim team were practicing early since there was no school.

So they were taking up half the pool.

I won’t get into all the details, but the last people I wanted to see today were kids on the swim team. I didn’t particularly want them to see me in a bathing suit, and I definitely didn’t want to be smoked by them in the pool.

Plus the pool was moved to long course for the morning. If you are a swimmer you know how much harder long course is. If you have no idea what the hell long course means, just trust me that it’s longer, it’s harder, and it’s much more tiring.

So I was saying to myself, I should have just stayed home. I’ll just skip the swim today and go sit in the lobby and enjoy a quiet cup of coffee.

I seriously thought about bolting.

But I didn’t.

I got in.

I swam.

And when I was done, I felt great.

Great for not being a wimp. And great for sucking it up and moving outside my comfort zone.

And now I’m motivated again. I’m looking forward to getting in the pool tomorrow as opposed to looking for reasons to skip another day.

I’m back on track.

And so if you are reading this and struggling to get your ass moving, TODAY IS YOUR DAY. RIGHT NOW!

If it’s late at night after having also gotten sidelined by whatever and just not making it happen, tomorrow is your day!!!

Get your butt back to the pool or the gym or the spin class or out for a run or a walk or to that yoga class or CrossFit class or whatever it is that helps you stay active and healthy and focused.

If you are reading this first thing in the morning, stop making excuses. This is your sign. Listen to it. Even if you can only muster up the energy to do something for five minutes, that’s better than nothing.

Chances are, you’ll keep going once you are there.

Now get up and get going, or do whatever it is you need to do so that you can get up and get going!

Your body and your brain (and your family) will thank you!

 

Need a cute t-shirt to work out in? Here you go!