back to mom

This is a 'Monday writing prompt' from Absolutely Bananas. A nice reminder that we need to take some time for ourselves.

When you work full time, and have two small children, time to oneself feels like a selfish luxury. But I know that I am an all round happier and healthier person if I get a little bit of exercise. Over the years I have avidly embraced almost every fad in personal fitness, including every 'brand' of aerobics from step, to slide (remember that short lived phase?!) to water. There was a point in my life when I took 8 aerobics classes a week (I think that is called endorphin addiction), which gave me shin splints, not the perfectly honed body I longer for. Before babies I became an avid runner, which in San Francisco means an avid hill runner, though I never actually achieved my goal of running a marathon. I'd got my training runs up to about 17 miles, when I was hit by a car (not while running, but while crossing the road after leaving the pub!). After that the increasing inflexibility of my aging body drew me into Yoga, which, after I got accustomed to the chanting (so very un-British!), also became part of my life. Then after the birth of Geekygirl, eager to strengthen back those core muscles I took up pilates, private classes using the bizarre 'reformer' machine.

I've been longing to get back to it, the body of a mother of two takes a beating. Though my outward appearance is of someone in pretty good shape for having had a baby 6 months ago, I don't feel in good shape at all. I have noticed that every time I carry geekgirl on my hip, bend to lift Geekybaby out of his high chair, or lug the car seat up the stairs my back squeaks at me "Ouch, you are getting old, lady". Now that we finally have some semblance of an evening routine, I've decided to take up pilates again. If you only have an hour a week to get in shape, I really think this is the best bang for the buck. I started last week, and despite the fact that I spent the next 3 days feeling as if someone had punched me in the guts, I am really glad to be doing something proactive to take back my body.