I Used to Feel Guilty...

It is a mother’s conflict:  the balance of time spent on oneself, one’s work, and  family.  Exercising/staying active can seem like a dispensable luxury.  When there are so few hours in the day to get everything done, it can feel selfish to spend one of those hours on something like an activity for oneself.  It certainly felt that way to me. 

I have been back and forth in both situations as a working mother and as a SAHM.  No doubt I will be going back and forth in those same situations in the future. Both situations are demanding.  I started to exercise when my children were little and then, out of guilt in being pulled in so many directions, I gave up exercise… until I realized that I wasn’t spending any more time with my family in that extra hour, I was spending more time feeling exhausted and going through the motions of the day.  I wasn’t enjoying each moment as it came along.  I wasn’t fully present with each conversation.  It was then that I realized that exercise for moms is not a luxury. It’s a necessity.

  Exercise is one of the most important necessities that all parents need to fill in order to be better parents and better people.  Perhaps it is a generalization, but my belief is that children want their parents to stay healthy and alive for as long as possible.  They want their parents to be alive and well.  There are plenty of things that can happen that are out of a parent’s control, plenty of things that can affect health.  However, exercising to stay healthy is in a parent’s control.  Furthermore, to keep healthy and active is the best gift we could ever give our children, our relatives, our friends. 



          I realized that I had more energy for the rest of the day when I exercised for about an hour, at my own body’s pace, for 4-5 days a week.  I’m happier.  I think more clearly.  When I started to make this realization, I was a working mom.  I started out by walking at lunch time.  After lunch/exercise, I felt like I could handle all the work that came my way and then able to handle the family after work.  I'm not a skinny-minny or anything even close, but when I’m able to exercise and eat healthy (still eating sweets, but in moderation), I am a better parent, a better person. 

It’s not selfish.  In fact, it is the best thing a woman could ever do for the people who love and depend upon her.  So I don’t feel guilty anymore.  I leave the dishes.  I leave all the errands.  I leave all the guilt behind and make myself get out the door and do something active.  After all, that huge pile of laundry will be there when I get back—and I’ll have more energy and a brighter attitude towards it then. 

It’s for this reason that I’m going to launch a section of my blog, “The Tri-It Women”, as its own blog.  I will still have posts that discuss active family activities on “I’m Counting to Three!  Okay, Four…” and I’ll still have the back and forth connection between the two blogs (and the other sections).  Thank you so much for your support and I hope you will also read my new blog.   But for now, get out there and do something active!!