204 : Go Workout

Back in the day, when I was a young twenty something living in Lincoln Park I was quite religious about working out.  Yup, I had that part figured out.  I may not have been far along in my career, I may not have known what I wanted in a partner yet (Ha!  I obviously still don't know:) but I knew the importance of working out as it related to my mental health.  It's kind of funny to me when I think about it, that I was so put together and diligent about it at that time in my life because now it was a low, very low priority for me and it seemed as though everything else had risen on the list.  I knew back then, that if I was going to work out at all, I had to go first thing in the morning.  I also knew that motivation was key to the follow through and thankfully I usually had that in my friend Megs.  (Thanks Megs).  Now I was a single parent.  My job was demanding, my children were demanding and my free time was so limited that often the essentials (grocery shopping, etc) trumped any efforts of working out.  So today, it just so happened that my Ex had the boys for the day.  He came to pick them up around 9 and I told myself I would make it to the 10am yoga class.  I sipped my coffee and watched Sunday morning and before I knew it was wasn't going to be ready by 10.  It's okay. I can make the next one.  And then I hopped on my computer and started tooling around looking at God knows what and before I knew it another hour had passed.  The sky was getting dark and rain was coming down with a vengeance.  It would have been so easy to just stay in, but really my time was too precious for that, right?  I forced myself out of the house and made my way to yoga.  The class was amazing - physically and mentally.  I was completely in the zone and before I knew it, the 90 minutes was up.  I was so completely thankful I had made myself go.  When the question is on the table, it's so easy to choose the easier path and stay in.  But you are never going to regret going to work out.  Just the opposite.  Had I stayed in, I probably would've fallen asleep and woken up even more lethargic in time for my children to return.  I knew it was difficult for this to be a priority all the time right now.  I still had a lot on my plate and it was a never ending balancing act.  But when I had the chance, I had to take it.  I was worth it.