Trying New Things...

Thank you to P&G’s Have You Tried This Yet? program and Kroger for sponsoring my writing about trying new things and breaking out of my everyday routine. Click here to find great savings on high-performing P&G products at a Kroger store near you. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Back to my new things...

So, I'll be 100% honest.

I thought that I would have oodles of time when I became a stay-at-home mom.

Oodles.

So much that I really thought my house would be immaculate, the laundry would always be kept up, my son would be incredibly well behaved and calm 100% of the time, I would wake at the same hour I did to get ready for work, but would spend that time being physically active and getting myself ready to start the day with a healthy start. I also thought I would be absolutely bored out of my mind and would spend the majority of my time creating or focusing on civic causes and helping out my community.

Boy, was I wrong.

100% wrong.

In every freaking way.

EVERY WAY.

During the transitional period between no longer being part of the corporate world and moving into being at home with my little man, I created and fed several habits that are proving to be difficult to break.

One of them is being attached to my computer.

Granted, I was ALWAYS on a computer when I was part of the corporate world (yes, even after hours at home... I was always checking in and working on things from my home). So, when I started staying home, it was part of my natural day to be attached to technology and up to date all of the time.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am really working hard on "unplugging".

It is hard people.

Like... I feel a bit lost, and disconnected.

But, in a strange way, I like it.

Another thing I am working hard to change, is my level of physical activity.

It is important to me that we (his father and I, and as a family) set a good example for him and let him see that we're active.

Hanging out at home cleaning, or playing at the park with him isn't setting the example I'd like.

So, I started taking Zumba at my city's recreation center. They say it's like a dance party and I have to agree with that. Especially if you remember dances where everyone was doing their own thing, trying desperately to follow the cool person's moves (in my classes case, that would be our instructor), but everyone was clumsy and trying to figure things out. (We're getting better!!)

It's definitely a fast paced, multi-cultural dance inspired (mostly Latin though), exhilarating workout.

I LOVE it.

But, it hurts.

If you knew me growing up, you might remember that I was known for my lack of ... grace.

No joke.

I have tripped over invisible things on countless occasions.Completely embarrassing. But, for the most part, I have gotten over my clumsiness.

My parents used to tell me that I had natural rythmn.

Until... I tried to learn how to line dance.

Do you remember a line dance called the Electric Slide?

It took me three years to get that one down. I'm not kidding.Three freaking years. And then it wasn't a "cool" dance anymore, and instead was relegated to being a wedding dance.

So, though I really do LOVE to dance, I am not very good at it. It's a great thing that Fred doesn't know I am not good at it, because he and I can get our groove on for hours at home. He does his own thing too. I love it!

The point I'm desperately trying to get to is this...

I'm trying new things to make me a better me.

Zumba is one of them.

Even if it hurts.

And, it HURTS people. My thighs are aching in ways they have never EVER ached in. (Including when my personal trainer - aka Satan's Son - would push me to do things I didn't think were humanly possible. And I ached - oh how I ached - afterwords). I know the pain is good, and that it means my body is doing things it just isn't used to doing - and that THIS IS GOOD for me. But, it's still pain.

I love Zumba so much, that I even purchased it for our Wii.

Maybe now I can practice and not be the dork in our class who does everything backwards and looks like a fool. (Maybe Fred can teach me a thing or two!)

Tweet