OK, moms: Have you fallen into the “busy trap”? If you constantly feel overwhelmed and dream of escaping to a tropical island, then the answer is probably “Yes.” For the past few years, I’ve been stuck there as well.
Don’t get me wrong, I LIKE being busy. And my overscheduled life is totally my own doing. I have no one to blame but myself.
But around this time last year, I decided it had gotten way out of control. Enough was enough. I wanted OFF the crazy busy train. While I’ve always been a healthy eater, my exercise and sleep habits were suffering. I felt horribly out of shape. I was falling asleep while reading to my kids in the middle of the day.
So at the start of 2015, I set a fitness goal: run 10+ miles a week. At one point in my life, 10 miles a week would have felt like nothing. But I had fallen so far off the exercise wagon that it was a challenge.
Now that the year has come to a close, I’m happy to say: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Through heat waves, wildfires and blizzards, school vacations and inflamed blisters, I ran. While 10 miles a week may not sound like much, it’s the equivalent of almost 20 marathons–more than one a month!
I’ve also been working on getting more sleep. Instead of heading back to my computer after putting the kids to bed, I get myself to bed! Since my alarm goes off before 5:00am on weekdays, getting to sleep early is essential.
Of course, all of this has come at a cost. I haven’t been able to keep up with this blog. Something had to give! But as the result of my lifestyle changes, I feel great, my skin looks better, and I know I’m being much healthier.
This blog is really important to me–I truly want to help others by writing about my own challenges and successes in transforming my kids’ school food environment. I hope to get back to posting in early 2016.
In the meantime, I’m still working hard to make change in my community. This fall, we had some major setbacks with our Healthy Classrooms Initiative, which I hope to fill you in about really soon. Let’s just say the cupcakes are baaaack! Discouraging, to say the least–but I’m trying really hard to stay positive.
I’m also working on tackling the problems with our school lunch. In the coming weeks, I am meeting with our district superintendent and two board trustees. It is a huge nut to crack, but I really feel like the time might be right to get some positive changes in motion.
In the meantime, HAPPY NEW YEAR and hope all your wishes come true in 2016!
