I Couldn’t Find Time to Work Out, So I Got Creative

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.

Lindsay
Lindsay is a native New Orleanian, displaced only by her years at Mississippi State, where she earned a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries and a minor in English. She came home shortly after Katrina, to work as a zookeeper and be a part of the rebuilding of her beloved city. She dragged her husband Drake, a Tennessee native, along with her. Their son Bennett joined the family in 2010, and in 2014 they welcomed identical twin girls, Genevieve and Kellen Clair. She now works full-time as an Environmental Scientist while working on her Master's and serving part-time as NOM’s resident Jill of All Trades. Powered by espresso, cake, and craft beer, her happy place is on a beach or in the woods. Need to identify a plant, tree, or animal? Lindsay’s a wealth of random knowledge. She loves to cook and sprinkle a little glitter on everything.

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