Summertime Blues

I must admit I didn’t have much hope for today. The kids got out of school last Friday (at 11:30 am – what’s up with that?!) and we have been busy ever since. We wound up going out for lunch and dinner on Friday, and lunch on Saturday. This is not anywhere close to our usual plan, but we had a few things going on and it was easier to stop and grab something. I did insist on getting a real turkey sandwich from the cafe on Saturday instead of succumbing to the ball park burger or hot dog. Sunday was a day to catch up on sleep and relax.

This morning when I got up, I was hoping to just get an article written and see how long it would be before the kids got up. True to form, they were both up around 7 am, which is the time they usually get up for school or church. And my article wasn’t even close to being finished. It takes a few weeks for them to get used to sleeping in for summer and I knew they’d be up early. By 7:30, I was already figuring I wouldn’t get a workout in today.

But I told myself that was unacceptable.

I made a chore list for the kids. We had a little meeting and I explained that we are going to go back to the daily chore chart. Not only does it help keep the house clean, but it gives me some quiet time to work while they’re busy with chores. To my surprise, they were pretty accepting of it. Of course, I neglected to mention that they should’ve cleaned up the play room floor FIRST so I could get on the treadmill without distractions. Live and learn.

Lately my workouts have been outdoor walks and it had been a while since I’d been on the treadmill. With the kids up, it’s hard to concentrate on my writing and I kept noticing that it was getting later and later in the morning. Way past the time I usually start, let alone end, my workout. I was ready to call it a day and just go up and take a shower when That Little Voice (you know the one – she probably talks to you, too) said, “Donna, this is the day to make a fresh start. If you don’t get off your ass today and get back on that treadmill, it’ll be that much easier to put it off tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. So get up and get moving.”

And that’s exactly what I did.

I’m tired of giving myself a pass when I come up with any old excuse to avoid my workout. There will always be a better time to do it. There will always be a day when I feel more motivated. There will always be something else I need to be doing.

But there will never be another today.

So I laced up my Nikes, fired up my mp3, and did a moderate 30 minutes of jogging intervals. Not the greatest workout of all time, but it kicked the crap out of sitting on the couch. And that’s really all that matters.

After my workout, I made a double recipe of my protein shake so I could share it with the kids. Hemp protein powder, water, banana, strawberries, grapefruit, a little agave nectar (to neutralize the bitterness of the grapefruit), spinach and almonds. For lunch, I mixed up a few cans of tuna with carrots, celery, red onion, a squirt of yellow mustard and some light ranch dressing. The kids had theirs in tortillas, and I had mine on a sandwich thin with a few pickle slices.

As for the rest of the day, I have some more writing to do, and more importantly, some organizing so I can conquer my writing tasks in a timely manner. It’s always a challenge to adjust to having the kids here and it seems like it takes me so much longer to get any writing done with them in the house.

But one thing is for sure: I’ll be hitting that treadmill again tomorrow. You can count on that.

What about you? How are you planning to keep on top of your workouts this summer with kids underfoot and/or changing schedules?