What a week!

This week has been hard! Three nights this week I have had trainings after work. I am facilitating these trainings and that means that I leave at 7:45 AM for school and don't return home until close to 7 PM on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. These are LONG days. When I get home my kids expect me to be Mommy and my husband actually wants me to form complete sentences. :) I enjoy these trainings, but it is hard to add an additional 9 hours of work to my week that is already usually really full. 


Monday night one of my amazing co-workers asked me my exercise plan for the week. I love that she gets how important my workouts are to me. Long ago I passed the place where I worked out just to "lose weight". Somewhere along the line my workouts became a priority because they help keep me centered, help me sleep better, improve my attitude at home, and, yes, because they help me to maintain my weight. Many people that read my blog are parents that work full time, have families, and are trying to make it all work. I wanted to share my workout schedule for the week to encourage you that you can find time, even on those crazy weeks.


Sunday- Weight lifting before church
Monday- Woke up early and did Kinect Fitness before work
Tuesday- took the day off from exercise
Wednesday- Weight lifting and Shred (no meeting tonight)
Thursday- Morning run (took the AM off...more on that in a minute)
Friday- Weight lifting after work
Saturday- Running before hubby goes to work


Whew! Friday and Saturday are my plans to work out. Wednesday morning I woke up and was exhausted! There was no way that I was going to make it until Friday. I had a killer headache and I was so tired! This journey has become all about balance. Work. Being a Mom. Being a wife. Fitting in exercise. Making healthy food choices. IT"S A LOT! I still had 2 personal days that I could take before the end of the school year. I choose to take a 1/2 day personal day today (Thursday) and go in at noon instead of 7:45. This choice allowed me to sleep in an extra hour, get in a great run, play with my kids, and even eat lunch with my hubby and son before heading to work. Taking that little bit of time for myself gave me the opportunity to catch my breath and I can guarantee you that I will be a better teacher and facilitator for the rest of my day. 


I totally recognize that not everyone can just "take a day" off when you are feeling overwhelmed by the pressures of the day (week, month, year), but there are things that you can do: turn off the TV 1/2 an hour early and spend time in quiet reflection, wake up before the family and enjoy an extra cup of coffee, take the kids for a walk and get some fresh air. I encourage you to find time in your day (yes, even today) to stop and enjoy life...even if it's just for a moment.


~Kari