Yeah, yeah, everyone struggles to work out. Make it a priority and the time will make itself clear, they say. Put yourself first, they say. Because I know someone will say that *of course* I had time, I shall provide you with my schedule.
6-7:00 AM, get myself and three kids ready for school, drive to work
7:00 AM-3:30 PM, work
3:30-4:45 PM, kid pickup
4:45-6:30 PM homework & simultaneous dinner making
6:30-8:00 PM dinner/bath/bedtime
8:00-11:00 PM second job/cleanup/attempt to spend time with husband
11:00 PM-6:00 AM attempt to sleep
I swear I tried to squeeze it in somewhere between dinner and breaking up the nightly baker’s dozen screechy twin fights, but I failed. I like to run but I’m not a fan of running in the dark. I live in an old raised house and true story, the drywall cracked the time I tried to do a P90X video with a jumping sequence. I can barely walk across the house without the threat of the creaky floor waking a sleeping kid, let alone do a Jillian Michael’s video. A gym membership would leave me with the hours of 5-6AM, and I would surely wake everyone up leaving the house. Sound like excuses? Maybe they are.
I refuse to compromise on some things, like a from-scratch healthy(ish) meal. As much as I would like to go down to just one job, it’s not an option right now. I’m constantly burning the candle at both ends and not having some sort of anxiety/frustration outlet doesn’t help. I got tired of feeling the way I was feeling, and tired of feeling frustrated with the lack of hours in a day. So I did what any native New Orleanian girl with a deep love for music would do.
A couple of Mondays ago, I set Big Freedia Radio as my Pandora station, and I started dancing in my kitchen while I made dinner and juggled homework. Laugh if you must, but if you can listen to that station without finding yourself doing at least a little subconscious shimmy, then I’m not sure we can be friends.
But for real. Five days in a row, I got 40+ active minutes in (that’s 40+ minutes with a heart rate in the fat burn or cardio zone) and I met my step goal of 10,000 every day of the week for the first time since we stomped all over Disneyworld. I now know that I can cut onions while dancing in place, stir a roux while doing some hip circles, and assist with Common Core math homework as I march. I’m pretty impressed with myself, and not just because I didn’t cut off a finger or burn myself in the process.
So I guess everyone was right. I *did* find the time, in the most unexpected of places. I’m feeling healthier, more accomplished, and less anxious. As a bonus, I get to embarrass my children. Y’all get back now, it’s dinner prep dance party time.