If You Can’t Tell…I’m Totally Trying To Psyche Myself Up In This Entry.
Can I just say something? I AM AWESOME.
What? Come on. None of us say it enough. We all are waaaaayyyy too hard on ourselves. And I could have used about 15 more “a”s and “y”s in that “way” right there and I still don’t think I could have made my point. I’m starting to believe that guilt and self-persecution are inseparable from parenting, as often as we all bash ourselves for our inadequacies.
And I’m definitely guilty of all of that. But this morning? I’m heading to Spin Class. I have every excuse in the world to skip.
- This is our off-week from boot camp. A good time to let myself sleep in.
- I’ve exercised 7 days straight. Doesn’t everyone deserve a day off once in awhile?
- I was up very late last night. And late by REAL standards, not by my own in-bed-by-9 standards. I was still awake at 11:30pm. LATE!
All of this and I still got up at 4:15am (15 minutes later than normal, but that’s okay) without an alarm! And when I woke up, looked at my watch, I got out of bed. And you know why?
Because something a boot camp friend told another boot camper recently just screamed at me to get out of bed: “I never regret getting out of bed and dragging myself to boot camp. I do, however, always regret it the days I don’t.”
AMEN.
This week is going to be tough. Almost every night will be a late one. I have family coming in this weekend and we are having everyone, including friends for D’s office, over for dinner on Saturday before seeing E perform. Because Beauty and the Beast opens this week. This is going to be the definition of HARD WEEK. But I’m going to remind myself all week: I won’t regret DOING ___________. I will regret NOT doing it.
I think this applies to EVERYTHING. Playtime with the kids. Eating healthy. Cleaning the kid’s bathroom. Vacuuming. Exercising. Every decision I make because of being tired, I will regret. But if I stop, think about that for moment, and decide on the side of ENERGY and PRODUCTIVE and HAPPY, then I won’t regret a bit.
Yes…I’ll still be tired. But let’s face it, no matter what I decide this week: To do puzzles with the kids or not, to exercise or not, to wash the sheets or not – non of those decisions are actually going to make me less tired. This is just going to be a hard week. But if I don’t do the things I know I need to do, or if I let myself give in and binge at night because I’m stressed and hungry…I WILL REGRET THOSE DECISIONS. And this week? I don’t need to add guilt and self-hate onto my already-full emotional plate. This is the week I need go recognize: I AM AWESOME. And I’m going to let myself be awesome this week. I can’t stop the exhaustion…too much going on to avoid that. But I can stop the downward spiral of eating/stressing/grumpy/sad and not let the exhaustion affect my body, my mind, or even my family.
BECAUSE I AM AWESOME.
Just wanted to put that out there. Because I got my butt out of bed this morning, put on some spandex, and am headed to a spin class taught by a friend who will not judge me if I fall off my bike.
And just to help you get through your Monday: YOU ARE AWESOME TOO. The sick kids, the laundry, the dinner, the dishes, the playtime, the storytime, the bathtime…you do it all. You need to stop for a moment and look at yourself and realize: DUDE. YOU ROCK. And treat yourself like you do. Because if we all start treating ourselves better…treating ourselves like we deserve…then maybe our kids will feel less guilty those nights they veg out to Firefly reruns when they’re adults.
Because sometimes AWESOME deserve nothing more than sexy browncoat space cowboys.
as a SAHM of a 3yr old and 2 month old twins….i should tell myself this more often!
YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My grandmother used to tell all of us girls. in every single conversation we had with her, “you’re great”. I used to think it was hokey and just a grandmama thing, but honest to God, when she passed it was devastating to me to realize how much I would miss just that part of her. Let alone everything else she was. So that year, I made it a point to send a card to my sister, mom, aunts, cousins, everybody for no special occasion just saying “you’re great”. It’s now something we say to each other every time we talk. My grandmama was an awesome woman and made sure to tell all of the women in her life that we were awesome too. Thanks for reminding me of that this morning.
You are awesome and….so am I.
You ARE awesome! I want to be like you when I grow up!
Kim, you are always awesome. But I am concerned that you might “burn out” by week’s end (remember the Deathly Hallows party?). Give yourself permission to take a day off from exercise (I often hear people say a day completely off per week), and to not push yourself quite so hard so that you have the energy for the REALLY important stuff. You don’t want to be falling asleep during E’s performances! <3
Love this: “I won’t regret DOING ___________. I will regret NOT doing it.” I need to think like that more often!
You are awesome !!!! Positive affirmations are great!!!! You are Awesome!!!
I don’t think I ever regret NOT vacuuming or NOT cleaning a bathroom, but I guess I do feel uncomfortable/stressed out when they aren’t done and company is coming, so I get your point. I do agree with Margie about not pushing yourself too hard, but not necessary in regards to exercise. Exercise can provide such a good feeling of accomplishment and energy throughout the day. P.S. You are awesome, please do remember that.
Maggie, I agree with you that exercise can be energizing. But it’s definitely possible to overdo exercise and wind up too tired. It’s the old “listen to your body” refrain. On a week when you have lots going on, better to get a little exercise — or even to take every other day off — than to push too hard and crash, imo.
And I think I mentioned the wrong Harry Potter movie (I’m one behind
). But you probably remember the event I was referring to. 
Even a trainer will tell you that you need to take one day off a week for your muscles to recuperate!
Did the time change totally mess you up?
P.S. You are awesome!
You are awesome: glad to be here to cheer it with you!
You really are awesome. And you made me cry. I’ll try to be a little nicer to me, and try out that regret equation, too.