Baby steps...
Last night, I made my triumphant return to boot camp. There were no trumpets, but there was a sense of familiarity and belonging, despite the horde of new faces (a reminder of how long I've been gone.) There was no running or explosive movement for me, but there was plenty of upper body and quad work, with some kettle bell fun thrown in. My legs felt like jello as I tried making it up the stairs and my muscles are whiny a the slightest movement. But I love every second. I love the challenge of getting my body in better shape. I cherish sore muscles. There are some things you've got to break down in order to build it back up. The gold star for the day goes to my calf, that held steady through the workout. It's been almost six months since the initial injury and I am hoping to be running and at full capacity again soon!
While all of this is happening, my mom continues to progress with her rehab. This week, she started driving. Three and a half months after the accident, things are slowly returning to some type of normal. She still has other injuries to recoop from, but last week, she stood up on her own two feet to give me a real hug--first time since I told her goodbye before a business trip on December 4th! There is still a long road ahead, but I'm close to convincing her to doing a race with me sometime this fall. (She perked up at the mention of "Disney Marathon"--though it was probably more "Disney" than "marathon!")
Concurrent to this ongoing saga is the food journey. Yesterday marked one full week of post-cleanse; while I'm still adhering to a largely vegetarian diet, stevia and agave are back in my life. The biggest shock to my system is the fact that I miss the strict diet. (WHAT?!) Hahaha. I think the strictures of the diet gave me a routine. There were no gray areas! Being back in the workout routine, I'm downing a lot of Juice Plus+ shakes (rock on w/the coconut milk!--more calcium than dairy!) Today's lunch was a salad made up of blueberries, quinoa, wheat berries, cucumber and a spoonful of couscous. I lucked out and picked up some amazing organic celery earlier this week. I cleaned it and chopped it and have it chilling in water in the fridge. (The water keeps it from drying out.) It was a nice and easy mid morning snack. Some people like it with peanut butter or almond butter; I prefer it plain. Alert!--New find!! While I am not a huge fan of prepackaged/processed snacks, sometimes you need something on the go. If you've not heard of them already, let me introduce you to Rise bars (risebar.com). They offer a lot of interesting combos--not only can you pronounce the ingredients, but you can list them all on your fingers. Their products are 100% organic, gluten-free, with many vegan options and they are delicious. I am not saying make this your diet morning, noon, and night--just in case of emergency (perfect travel food.)
During these months of waiting...for my calf to heal, for my mom to heal, for me to continue figuring out my body...I have learned that while I have plenty of patience for others (most of the time...) I rarely grant myself the same abundance of leniency. If something needs done, it needs done now and there are no excuses. Over the last few months, in conversations with friends, I've noticed a recurrence of this specific phrase: "You're too hard on yourself." I can think of three friends in particular who have a habit of making that comment--because, as I've finally realized, I have a habit of being hard on myself. I'm learning that there is a difference between pushing yourself, making yourself stretch beyond where you thought you could go; and being hard on yourself--neglecting to recognize the progress made, instead bemoaning the fact that you're not where you should be. Baby steps, though small, are still moving you in the direction you need to go. The pace may not be what you want it to be, but even though they're baby steps, they're still steps.
By the grace of God, I'm a better person today than I was yesterday. For the things in my life, I need to work like it depends on me, pray like it depends on Him, and remember that baby steps will still get you where you need to go.
While all of this is happening, my mom continues to progress with her rehab. This week, she started driving. Three and a half months after the accident, things are slowly returning to some type of normal. She still has other injuries to recoop from, but last week, she stood up on her own two feet to give me a real hug--first time since I told her goodbye before a business trip on December 4th! There is still a long road ahead, but I'm close to convincing her to doing a race with me sometime this fall. (She perked up at the mention of "Disney Marathon"--though it was probably more "Disney" than "marathon!")
Concurrent to this ongoing saga is the food journey. Yesterday marked one full week of post-cleanse; while I'm still adhering to a largely vegetarian diet, stevia and agave are back in my life. The biggest shock to my system is the fact that I miss the strict diet. (WHAT?!) Hahaha. I think the strictures of the diet gave me a routine. There were no gray areas! Being back in the workout routine, I'm downing a lot of Juice Plus+ shakes (rock on w/the coconut milk!--more calcium than dairy!) Today's lunch was a salad made up of blueberries, quinoa, wheat berries, cucumber and a spoonful of couscous. I lucked out and picked up some amazing organic celery earlier this week. I cleaned it and chopped it and have it chilling in water in the fridge. (The water keeps it from drying out.) It was a nice and easy mid morning snack. Some people like it with peanut butter or almond butter; I prefer it plain. Alert!--New find!! While I am not a huge fan of prepackaged/processed snacks, sometimes you need something on the go. If you've not heard of them already, let me introduce you to Rise bars (risebar.com). They offer a lot of interesting combos--not only can you pronounce the ingredients, but you can list them all on your fingers. Their products are 100% organic, gluten-free, with many vegan options and they are delicious. I am not saying make this your diet morning, noon, and night--just in case of emergency (perfect travel food.)
During these months of waiting...for my calf to heal, for my mom to heal, for me to continue figuring out my body...I have learned that while I have plenty of patience for others (most of the time...) I rarely grant myself the same abundance of leniency. If something needs done, it needs done now and there are no excuses. Over the last few months, in conversations with friends, I've noticed a recurrence of this specific phrase: "You're too hard on yourself." I can think of three friends in particular who have a habit of making that comment--because, as I've finally realized, I have a habit of being hard on myself. I'm learning that there is a difference between pushing yourself, making yourself stretch beyond where you thought you could go; and being hard on yourself--neglecting to recognize the progress made, instead bemoaning the fact that you're not where you should be. Baby steps, though small, are still moving you in the direction you need to go. The pace may not be what you want it to be, but even though they're baby steps, they're still steps.
By the grace of God, I'm a better person today than I was yesterday. For the things in my life, I need to work like it depends on me, pray like it depends on Him, and remember that baby steps will still get you where you need to go.
Comments
Post a Comment