The Hard Work of Happiness-Da Body Mon

Exercise can fall to dead last on the "to do" list for moms with young children. When time and money are short, we can resort to counting the flights of stairs to satisfy of our daily fitness quota. Personally, I do not like to exercise. I don't like sweating. I don't like making my body do things that are good for it. I am a pouty two year old on the inside. But I do it for a few reasons:

In no particular order...
1. I am a nicer, more patient, calmer mom (and person in general). When I think of the slight disruption it causes my family for me to be gone for an hour, I just remember the happy mommy that comes back.
2. I can touch my toes now.
3. I want my children to assume that staying fit and having active fun will be a part of their lives as adults. Seeing their dad and I play, run, climb and be busy WITH them, instead of just sitting on the sidelines, is the only way to instill this.
4. I want to play, run and climb with my children's children. If I can't do it now, I never will.

I live in an area with amazing resources for living a healthy life. Having lived in many places with differing cultures regarding exercise, I do not take this for granted. I admire the runners, bikers and gym rats of this world, but those are not options for me at this point in my life. I found a little neighborhood Barre studio, that offers childcare and is a 10 minute walk from my house. Better yet, I barter for classes, which solves that "I don't have the money for this" problem. The cherry on top is that my sister has become equally addicted to these classes, which provides that oh so important social element and accountability. PERFECT!!!

I feel a bit silly writing about this. It seems trivial considering the other posts included in this series. But I know that I am physically and mentally more prepared for the demands of my life because of the time I make for exercise. It is hard work. I actually have to WORK at the studio in order to "pay" for my classes. This is in addition to making time for the classes themselves. But I sweat during each class, counting it all joy.

First and Second posting in this series.