Okay so it’s not my favorite type of run but there are days when I just don’t have a choice. Today was one of them.
Granted the rain is melting away what’s left of the snow and cleaning up the city but it’s also bone chilling to be sweaty and rain soaked at the same time! The good part is that it pushed me to keep running no matter what in an effort to stay warm!!
These were my thoughts during this morning’s rainy run……
So my rainy run turned out to be fun after all and now that I have these 5 reasons, I will have no excuse but to get out there again next time it rains!
It’s a holiday weekend! Yay! 4 beautiful days together as a family 🙂
4 days with no work, no school, no schedule -just good old fashioned family fun. Sleeping in and taking it easy. What could be better?
I can often be very much of a type A planner. I like to know what’s going to happen along with all the details of how it will unfold. Many times I have used the holidays to schedule tons of activities and play catch up on work. Not this time! I am planning to have 4 days of pure bliss.
Here are my “non plans” for this holiday weekend
2 short runs and 1 long one –Of course I LOVE spring running but I also have some new gear to test out from CTR, a local Montreal brand with great looking running gear. Check back for a full review on these items in about a week!
Encourage my children to join me in some peaceful meditation –My little 3 year old princess actually loves this and asks to do it many evenings before bed. My son is 7 and a little skeptical about the whole thing but I’m sure it will grow on him in time.
This is one of my favorites meditation pieces!
Play outside & take my kids on their first bike ride of the season –Montreal is supposed to be 12 degrees tomorrow!
Make plans to catch up with friends –Both out of town friends and local ones!
Celebrate the holidays with my family –A great combination of Passover & chocolate Easter eggs
Have 4 consecutive nights of family dinner –This is super exciting because normally this only happens once a week. Our business is open 7 days/nights a week and my hubby and I often laugh about how we just pass each other on the driveway most of the time.
Read a new book –Bookstore here I come!
Plan new blog posts and spend time advancing the writing of my own book –LOVING this new found passion!
Have a movie night with the kiddies –No explanation needed! 🙂
A little spring cleaning! -Not always fun to do but so lovely once it’s completed!
Although these sound like simple things, they are the makings of MY magic moments.What are your holiday weekend plans? How do you make magic moments?
Wishing Everyone a very Happy Easter and Passover!
Okay parents, let’s be real. Many of us feel like we can’t take the time we need for ourselves because of our spouses, children, parents, home, work, business and 5 million other commitments. I have had this mentality my whole life but it became much more prominent once I became a mom.
I did try to make it all work but more often than not I failed. I would make a plan for my day or my week that included special scheduled “me time”. For me that meant, exercise, meditation, reading, writing and occasionally when the kids were babies…sometimes it even meant a nap (!) More often than not though, despite my good intentions I would cancel “me time” because I felt I had other bigger more pressing commitments to attend to. Then after I didn’t follow my own plans, I would berate myself and become more and more frustrated with the lack of TIME.
I always blamed TIME. There was never enough time to work out for an hour, then shower AND wash my hair! That meant at least 1.5 to 2 hrs of TIME! Read for fun? Yes this used to be one of my favorite things to do when I was younger but now? There was definitely not enough time for that unless I was on vacation maybe and even then! Now I had to get the kids ready and off to school, clean the house, do the laundry, visit extended family, put in hours and hours a week on managing our family business, prepare for and teach multiple classes a week, maintain friendships, attend school plays and shows, do homework with my oldest, play with my youngest, the list goes on. Not to mention feeling guilty about not making scrapbooks and scouring Pinterest for hours designing little mementos that will document each moment of my precious little ones lives. Hmmm…and what about spending some quality time with the husband?
Then I realized this needed to stop. One of the first times that it dawned on me that my priorities needed to change was when I realized that my day was being spent dictated to me by other people. I would make a plan for my day and it would all go to waste when I would open my email. I have multiple email accounts: the main company email, my personal business email and my personal/family email. Each one would be filled with anywhere from 10-50 emails and at least 80% were marked URGENT by the sender. Everyone wanted an answer and a solution to their questions and problems. Then there were the phone calls and voicemails…..
Needless to say I never got anything done for myself and I would always cross everything that I had planned to do off my list because of other people’s priorities. Now this doesn’t mean that I condone not maintaining or following up on your responsibilities. However I have finally after much trial and error come up with methods that works for me and hopefully can help out those of you who feel like you are also struggling to manage it all.
I did a lot of research, read a lot about self-development and drew from the teachings of people like Tony Robbins, Tim Feriss and Jim Rohn. I say I drew from their teaching because the reality is that they give lots of great advice but they are not living their daily lives as a busy working mom of young kids. So I had to adapt and try out different techniques to see what worked and what didn’t.
Here are some of the concepts that I have applied to my daily life
PERSONAL
I no longer come last. Yes I said it. I come first. That’s hard to say as a mom, I know. Reason being is that if I do not have my “me time” I am just not the best mother and wife that I can be. I must spend time outside. I must run. I must write. I must read. Notice that these are not SHOULD’S but MUST’S.
However I’ve also learned that I can’t do it all each day. So now I made a schedule and I alternate. Running & stretching one day, yoga & meditation the next. Some days I nix both and just read or write. In a perfect world I could spend the first 4 hours of my morning doing all these activities but that’s not reality. So I pick one of my MUSTS each day and do just one BUT I make sure to be deeply grateful for it.
Choose 5 minutes a day to turn off all distractions and be grateful
Find at least 30 minutes a day to do one of your MUSTS -maybe that 30 minutes is in the morning before everyone else gets up or maybe it’s late at night. Find your time, it’s there waiting for you if you look. Make YOU a priority. I guarantee no one will self-combust because of it 😉
FAMILY
I used to be distracted all the time and never really focused on being in the moment. I have learned that putting my phone on silent and focusing on finger painting with my little one, or encouraging the kids to talk about their day at the dinner table has changed everything. Sometimes putting a hold on the rushing around and letting the kids play outside just a little longer or stay up just a little later is not just okay but amazing and beautiful. Making the effort to get a babysitter and go out with my hubby or meet up with friends even when I am tired and would rather just go to sleep is so very worth it. You can change your state of mind or state of being in an instant.
Instead of asking myself “Do I really want to go/do etc…?” I ask myself “What if I couldn’t?” What if I was incapable of even considering these options due to sickness, old age or worse? After pondering that thought, the answer is always YES! Let’s GO!
WORK
I no longer work harder and longer but I do work smarter. I prioritize according to MY description of what is urgent not other people’s. The reality is that some issues are time sensitive but many other are not. Turns out that people can wait and will not explode if they fail to receive an answer in 2 hours or less! In fact as long as you are clear about your response time turn around, most people can wait up to 48 hours or more.
I no longer check my email first thing in the morning, late at night or constantly throughout the day. Email is a fabulous tool but it can also be a nightmare that sucks up all your time without you even realizing until it’s too late. I schedule specific times and I limit the time spent answering. If I can make a phone call instead of email, I will. It’s faster and provides a much better source for communication.
What have been some the consequences of these new additions in my life?
I no longer let high maintenance people, social media and tv waste my valuable time.
I go to sleep earlier
I am actively pursuing my MUSTS each day
I feel calm, relaxed and more appreciative of each moment of my day
I have less stress and less feelings of not being “enough”
I have more self-confidence and happiness and enjoy sharing it with others
I feel like I am in a constant state or learning and growth
I have discovered a sense of wonder in everyday moments
My self development journey has many facets to it. Running and writing are some of the bigger ones for sure but by far the most important one is the realization was that TIME didn’t need to be found. It was always there waiting for me. I just needed to know where to look.
This week my kids unknowingly gave me the answers to the question that I get asked the most: Why do I run?
Pretty much everyone who is a non-runner has asked me this question in the past year and a half. Non-runners seem to be satisfied with a get fit, lose weight, be more healthy type of answer however they don’t seem to understand the desire to run beyond accomplishing those first little goals. So when my kids asked me the same thing this week, I really took the time to go deep and find an answer….not by choice though! Their timing was less than perfect at 7:15am 😉
However, being forced to undergo an inquisition by a 6 and 3 year old will really get to the bottom of any burning questions one might have. They are just never satisfied with the answers given, there’s always another WHY? WHY MOMMY? but…..WHY??? So one snowy morning this week, while trying to get my two little ones dressed in snowsuits, hats, boots and gloves in time for school- I was subject to the KIDDIE INQUISITION.
It went something like this….
Mommy? Mommy….?? Mommmmmmmyyyyy????? –Put your snow pants on.
Are you going to the gym today?-Yes
Why?-I have to. Put your snow pants on.
Why? -I always go on Tuesdays. Put your snow pants on.
But why do you go?-I like to run. Put your snow pants on.
Why do you like to run?-Are your snow pants on yet???? Stop talking and get dressed!!!
10 seconds of silence…..
Mommy? Mommy….?? -Okay now boots, put your boots on.
Why do you run? -BOOTS!!! You’re going to be late AGAIN!!!! PUT YOUR BOOTS ON!!!
And so it went…..back and forth between my 6 and 3 year old, on and on…..they never let up, they never backed down until finally I surrendered to their questions in an attempt to stop the madness.
Here’s what I learned about why I run.
Zach, Chloe….Mommy runs because…
It makes me happy
When I’m happy I’m a better mommy
The physical pain and temporary discomfort make me feel alive and pushing through it makes me feel powerful
It makes me healthy and that means I can do more and experience more with you
I take my job as your role model seriously and know that my actions speak louder than words
It takes discipline and dedication but gives me clarity and inspiration
It helps me to sit still and focus for long periods of time without getting restless
Habits are inevitable, why not choose healthy ones?
There aren’t any drawbacks to making time for myself
Pushing myself to be the best I can be teaches you how to embrace a healthy competitive spirit
I want you to find your own passion and experience the pure joy that it brings when you pursue it
No other activity, hobby, interest has ever made me as happy, healthy, exhilarated or appreciative as running
Mommy? –Yes Zach?
Have fun at the gym. I love you.
Mommy? –Yes Chloe?
I love you, you my best friend.
I love you too my babies. Thank you for helping me to know exactly why I love to RUN!! 🙂
Montreal Runner Mom 