All in Good Time

Walked 5 minutes,
ran 8,
walked 5 minutes,
ran 10,

walked two minutes… danced an “I survived” victory boogie.

I have been thinking a lot lately about why I haven’t exercised much my whole life. I’m not particularly that uncoordinated (unless attempting the infamous grapevine manuver of circa 1990’s aerobics class…should be outlawed). I don’t hate sports…I even love being a spectator. I DO want to look like my yoga instructor, even though that might not be in the cards, I'd settle for a fitter and more healthier version of myself. All of this didn't change the fact I would have rathered count the number of rocks on the planet than run a mile.  So, I'm now wondering WHY that was the case.  Why the avoidance? 

Oh, I know…it’s the laundry. Most definitely the piles and piles of laundry that keep coming at me like some sick tsunami taking pleasure in pounding me into the surf. But I haven’t always had to do laundry for two adults, two kids and a bouncing baby boy who live with three different colors of dog hair.  What gives?

Maybe it’s the artist image thing. Did I have romantic notions of suffering for my craft…way too cool to care about such vain attempts to care for my vessel?...that’s just ridiculous.  Doesn't really sound like me either. The fact is everyone knows at some point exercise is the ultimate act of taking care of yourself.  The means to obtain a healthier body, yes, but also mind and spirit. So, again, I ask myself why the reluctance?

Oh yeah...I forgot...I AM LAZY. Yes. I do enjoy a good couch session taking in the latest arrival of Netflix and snacks o’ plenty. Quite frankly, it’s why I fell in love with my husband with such ease. You see, although he is one of the athletic types (never met a piece of sporting equipment he doesn’t know what to do with) he is at his absolute best enjoying a lazy afternoon with me.  We just fit from day one...bonding over epic trilogies while researching the surprisingly elusive best ever chocolate chip cookie recipe. But more than the absolute devotion to all things spa-like and/or sugar glazed, I honestly think I thought I didn’t need to exercise. Or even to be more to the point… exercising seemed to be something other people needed to feel good about themselves. I, however, thought I could find that through other things. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe you can find activities that enrich your mind and spirit and even body that aren’t considered exercise. Things like…listening to my kid tell a joke...painting…finding new music…reading…and even enjoying the perfect chocolate mousse at Pearl Cafe. But, I guess I’m starting to discover just how powerful it is to invest in myself this specifically and for a purpose of discovery as well as health…very cool. And for me…I’d say it’s about time (even if I move at a snails pace).

 

So I’m excited to share something new to the blog this week. Shawn Gray and Jessica (a youth care worker) from The Susan Talbot Home for Girls have agreed to send me updates on one particular kid in care…we have changed her name to Hannah to protect her identity. Hannah’s journey in the therapeutic group home will give me the inspiration to keep going on mine. In this week’s edition, I found it interesting that staff say Hannah will need to learn to actually “walk the talk.” She knows what’s healthy but now she is faced with actually having to do it. Yup…sounds familiar.


Here’s what Jessica wrote:

Hannah came to the Talbot Home for Girls from a foster home that just wasn’t working for her. Even though Hannah has struggled for most of her life, coming in and out of different placements, she seems to have been able to keep a positive outlook on life. On the other hand, her multiple placements have resulted in Hannah being able to talk the walk instead of the reverse. It makes you wonder how much she’s been able to learn and understand about herself versus how many people have talked at her. So far, Hannah throws out terms like ‘emotionally absent’ to refer to her last foster mother. She seems to understand the language of treatment, but doesn’t seem to grasp how it’s made its way into her vocabulary.


Hannah may not know this yet, but she is about to start what may be one of the hardest experiences of her life. She will be asked to learn to trust a new therapist, staff members, and residents. This may be one of the most complicated things to expect from Hannah, after her parents and other caregivers did not take care of her. Some even went as far as choosing abuse or neglect. Hannah will also be asked to revisit all of these difficult experiences from her past, and eventually will be asked to share her personal history with everyone involved with her here at Talbot. The hope is that Hannah will find patience, determination, and trust that we are here to help her.

By the way…the staff at Talbot Home for Girls liked the idea of this blog and telling of Hannah’s story so much that Jessica is now starting to run with Hannah. Wow. See below:

At the Talbot Home for Girls, we require the girls to do at least three cardiovascular activities each week. Hannah went into her first cardio thinking the treadmill would be cake. To her surprise, we actually check each girl’s heart rate and expect them to run for twenty five minutes. Hannah was given the suggestion to try and keep up with an older resident who was running next to her. You could see Hannah quickly fatigue when she started holding herself up off the treadmill with her arms. Minutes later, she had closed her eyes and went flying off the back end…


As with learning any new skill, you must have patience and accept guidance from others. Hannah is slowing coming to this understanding, but the road ahead will be challenging. She has realized that the treadmill may not be the best first step, and has decided to go with the elliptical in order to ease her way not only into cardio, but also into treatment.

It will be exciting to see how this goes…stay tuned!