This week marked my 1st attempt at returning to the world of exercise in who knows how long. I honestly can’t remember the last time I exercised for consecutive days. It was definitely before Natalie was born; and she just turned 4. Yes, there has been the exercise of lifting kids in and out of car seats, the occasional walk of our dogs, and pushing strollers over the last few years. But good cardio workout- yeah, that was a dream and a very faint memory.

Recently Jacob has found great humor in blowing fart kisses on me. It started with him giving me sweet kisses on the cheek. Then one day his brain clicked into a different gear and thought “hey, it would be fun to try to make a farting sound while giving my mom a kiss”. Well that then proceeded into him discovering that a different sound occurred if he made that “fart kiss” on my face vs. on my arm. And oooh-la-la the joy when he discovered that my flabby triceps produced the greatest sound of all. He started saying “oh, mama, let me feel for your squishy parts” as he would use his fingertips to prod my arm and look for the softest spot. Thank goodness he never found my belly or my thighs and was quite content with the fart sounds on the back of my arms.

Needless to say, despite the merry laughter it really has been a kick-in-the-pants for me to get back into exercise. So this week I decided I needed to start something new. Thankfully Steve is willing to leave for work at 7am this year, as opposed to the 6am early morning departure he had every day last year. And so now I am afforded that extra hour and can go exercise. I have returned to my love- swimming at the Hawthorne Pool, in the stillness of the early morning.

It’s cold. It’s still dark when I leave home. I’m trying not to be a wimp. I’m hoping for the Fall when the time will change and there will be more light at 5:30am. I’ve learned that swimming with my shaded goggles seriously messes with my mind at that time of day. On Monday I thought I was swimming in the dark the whole time. When I moved the goggles off my face to readjust for one moment, I was greatly surprised that the sun had already risen and there was glorious light in the sky. Lesson learned- no shaded goggles in the morning. But what a joy- to feel my soul awakened in the morning with the sun’s rays, the beautiful feeling of being all alone in my lane, arm over arm, kick after kick…..just me and the water and God. I love these kinds of mornings.

I’ve made it my goal to be there 4 mornings a week. Thursdays the pool is closed in the morning for cleaning. So I’m hoping I’ll be there each weekday. I better be- considering I ate 5 or 6 (I lost count) chocolate chip cookies today! I don’t exactly have the best will power in the world when there are fresh homemade cookies that Natalie was so eager to bake. 🙂 So I’ve got 4 days down…….and lots of squishy parts to tone up.

This is only going to work if I have discipline, perseverance and go to bed at a reasonable hour. I’m hopeful.