Real Moms: Linda Gardner

HebrewDawn: Real Moms Series - Linda Gardner — from left to right: Mary Jean, Linda, Tess, and Ava

Today I have the great privilege of introducing you to the next mom in our Real Moms Series. She is the mother to THREE beautiful girls, and is truly a beautiful person on the inside and out. I do not have want to take up much of your time with an introduction, so that you can savor all that she has to share. Please meet Linda Gardner, and I hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as I’m honored to know her.

How many children do you have and how old are they? Tess – my beautiful, kind, already married, 25 year old … and did I say kind? Mary Jean – my beautiful, goofy, not happy about being the middle child, 20 year old … and did I say goofy? And Ava – my beautiful, blonde, last chance for a boy, 19 year old … and did I say blonde?

What’s something you wish you knew before you became a mom that would’ve made your motherhood easier or better? How important it is to form relationships with other moms so that you have a support system of girlfriends. Join a play group of moms of similar aged children. If there isn’t one in your neighborhood – start one! It’s one of the best things that I ended up doing as it provided support for me and playmates for my girls. Girlfriends made me a better mother. Playmates made them better friends.

What is your greatest joy in being a mom? Beyond a doubt … Watching my children develop into the people that they aspire to be.

What has been your greatest struggle as a mom? If they hurt … knowing when to step in so that they know that I have their back and knowing when to step away so that they develop skills on how to fix things for themselves. Learning how to be their biggest advocate while not trying to fix everything for them. You can’t. It’s hard. I want to chew out every friend that has said an unkind word to them and every organization that didn’t accept them, but all of that just makes them stronger people and prepares them for what life brings. Still hard though.

How has your relationship with your significant other changed since having kids? Better, better and better. Obviously working as a team strengthens any relationship. Making the decision before having kids as to parenting style is huge. So basically agreeing to be the same type of parent before you are thrown into the situation. It’s not something you can “wing” because there are 2 of you involved. For us this came natural. We discussed how we would handle things and as it turned out – we were on the same page for most things already. So we were ahead of the game. But if there are things you disagree on then you have to decide ahead which way you are going to parent together.

Having a child changes you. What do you hold onto and let go of as mother? Hold on to who you are on the inside … your heart, your soul, your spirit and let go of the fact that it’s about you. It’s always about someone else now – in the best of ways.

How do you make time for date night? Or how do you keep it saucy when life gets messy? I love date night so it’s easy. You just do it! I have never felt “torn” between wanting to spend time with my husband and wanting to spend time with my children. I have always craved both and done both. And felt good about it. Children have to experience you leaving and coming back. Even if a date means a weekend away. I was always fine with sending my kids away for weekends with the grandparents. It’s a win win for everyone and now they have those wonderful memories. Believe me – they will be fine without you. And if someone else doesn’t do things the exact way that you do … it’s OK.

What’s the one thing you would tell yourself looking back on your journey thus far? Just when you think you’ve been through the best part … lookout … the best is yet to come. The infant stage, the toddler stage, the teenage years, and now young adult. So many laughs, so many tears, so much of everything and yet so much to look forward to!

Anything else you’d like to share? One of my main goals as a parent was always to have my children and family unit be able to exist without me. Obviously I cannot control when I leave this earth, and if it ended up happening earlier rather than later, then I wanted my girls to be well adjusted and confident enough (even as children or teenagers) so that after the initial grieving, they would be able to think of me and enjoy the time we had together and not feel bitter and that they had somehow been cheated. So as important as I am in their life – I always want them to know and remember that their relationship with God is the single most important relationship in their life. That is everlasting.
Respect your children and in return you have every right to demand respect from them. If you are upset with your children – feel free to tell them and explain why. But be open to hearing the same from them. If they are upset with you and decisions that you’ve made – be accepting of their thoughts. It’s a 2 way street. And if they respect you and your rules, then disciplining is so much easier. Feeling guilty over breaking the rules is a much more effective form a discipline than being sent to their room.

Make sure your children are raised to be well rounded. Miss a rehearsal or even school to go on a vacation. Miss a game or a tournament to attend church. Make sure they are exposed to a variety of activities … sports, music, community service, church … it’s all important so they can develop into healthy well rounded people. And remember – our children are not put on this earth to fill the areas that we failed in – they need to find their own thing.

Don’t expect your children to do anything you won’t do also. They learn by example not by preaching. Don’t expect them to do community service if you aren’t willing to do it also. If they want to be a girl scout – you should be willing to be a leader (if they want you to). Don’t expect them to be involved in church if you aren’t also. And as far as being involved … be a room parent. Not every year, but at least one year in elementary school for each child. If you absolutely can’t work it out, then at least volunteer in the lunch room occasionally or to read to their class. You will never regret it!

Worship together as a family. It’s an hour a week and it’s the one time of the week that everyone puts everything else aside and makes God, family, and a sense of community and purpose a priority.

HebrewDawn: Real Moms - Linda Gardner — from left to right: Linda, Tess, Mary Jean, and Ava

Did you enjoy getting know Linda? I hope you’ve been inspired by Linda and her journey through motherhood. She has shared so much wisdom and guidance for us as mothers and mothers-to-be. There are days that I’m terrified at my daughter becoming a teenager and growing up, but hearing from Linda, I feel like it’s nothing to fear.

If you’d like to read about some other moms in our series, go read about Loren and Heather, here and here.

Do you know a great mom that should be featured in our series? If so, please send me a message.

When and Where to Draw the Line

Boundaries are something we wrestle with from a young age, though we may not appreciate the limits they seemingly put on our lives. From a young age we fight to push these very limits, even though they exist to keep us safe, out of trouble, and on the right path. In time we come to learn to set our own boundaries so that we can make room for what’s important in our life. As adults, the boundaries we establish are for the many facet of for our life, and we must decide when and where to draw the line.

It’s taken me many years and LOTS of practice, but I am much better at setting boundaries than I once did. There was a time when I worked 40+ hours a week, went to school full-time, volunteered, and somehow made time for friends and family. But all of that came at a cost. One such expense was sleep, because who has time for 7 to 8 hours of sleep when you have that much to do? There was also the cost my sanity, as I tried to keep straight where and when I had somewhere to be or something to do. But this was all a small price to pay for being able to do all the things right? Wrong!

Trying to do everything only led to being..

burnt out

frustrated

overworked

tired

and the list goes on.
Been there too? Want to break free from this cycle of trying to do it all, and then heading on a downward spiral of burnout and frustration?

1. Decide what is most important to you.

Making time for family or friends? Growing in your career? Volunteering and giving back to your community? Faith?

This may be different for each of us, AND it can vary over time. It’s critical that we pay attention to how our priorities ebb and flow. Before I had my daughter, I preferred starting my work day a little later and would work later into the evening. Now that I have my little girl, I’d much rather start my day earlier and get home to her sooner than later.

2. Decide what your limits are going to be.

Limiting yourself to work 40-45 hours per week? Taking vacation time regularly? Seeing your family a certain number of times per month? Having dinner with friends once a week?

Just like our priorities and what’s most important, this can be differently for you and me. I’ve learned that working 50-60 hours a week doesn’t make me any more productive, and I’m better off keeping it closer to 40 hours per week. Thankfully I’m not alone in this, and more and more studies are coming out to show this. Even coming to show that you can be at an increased risk of stroke from working more than 55 hours a week. YIKES!

3. Decide when and where you need to draw the line.

Establishing your boundaries from the start is critical part of being able to maintain them. I have friends who are pastors, and have to choose what their day off is going to be since they work on Sunday. Many choose Monday or Friday in addition to Saturday like many of us. BUT, it’s hard for them to protect their day off, because people want to meet with them on their chosen day off. Like any of us when someone is pushing the limits of our boundaries, they have to decide whether or not to say yes or no. If they say yes, they’re setting the precedent that their boundaries don’t matter. If they say no, people know to respect their boundaries and meet during their work week.

Learning to say no and sticking to it usually doesn’t have it’s negative effects. Instead you protect yourself, and show that you a person of your word. You won’t do that which violates your limits, but you’re all in when the time is appropriate. Once you have established what your boundaries will be, work on knowing your clues for when you’re getting overwhelmed. Being able to recognize this before you’re burnt out helps you recalibrate your boundaries as needed, so that you can make room for what’s most important to you.

Mother’s Day Picnic

Each year leading up to Mother’s Day I start scrambling for gift ideas for for my mother. I try to remind myself that it’s not her birthday or Christmas, so I don’t go overboard. But then what am I supposed to do for a woman who doesn’t need anything? What can I buy for a woman who has what she wants? NOTHING. That’s right, nothing. That’s when I finally realized that what any mom really wants on Mother’s Day is quality time with her children. Rather than buy her something she doesn’t need, I’ve started taking my mom on a Mother’s Day Picnic.

The first time I did this for my mom it was years and years ago, and then I forgot about doing it. Why you may wonder? Honestly I’m not so sure, but I think it’s because my brother and I found other ways to spend quality time with our mom on Mother’s Day. But then I got married, which left my husband and I in predicament…

We both wanted to celebrate Mother’s Day with each of our moms. So what’s a grown child to do? Coordinate one giant Mother’s Day Picnic! We invited all the moms (my mom, my mother-in-law, AND my sister-in-law’s mother-in-law) for a beautiful picnic on Mother’s Day. We all had the opportunity to spend Mother’s Day with our own mothers. But to top it off we also had the chance to spend time with the mother’s we gained by marriage and are so delighted to call our other mom.

Then came time for me to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mother myself. How do I prepare to celebrate the mothers in my life and allow my family to celebrate my own motherhood? More picnics! It’s an easy thing to prepare, and we all get the quality time we want most. It’s simple, yet thoughtful. It’s quality over quantity. It’s a Mother’s Day well spent.

How will you celebrate Mother’s Day this year? Anyone picnicking?

five minutes MAY change your mind

Time is everything; it’s money, it’s irreplaceable, it’s of the essence. It’s free, but priceless. You can make it, spend it, but you can’t own it. Time is one resource that is rarely in abundance, so we have to manage it wisely.Many people tell me that they don’t work out because they don’t have time. Well, I’m here this month to dispel that myth. We do have time, I promise! We just might have to get creative in our quest to find it. For the month of May, I invite you to try something new with me. I believe that 5 minutes each day MAY just change your mind about exercise and results.

Take five little minutes each day to focus on you, to give back to yourself, to start progressing towards your healthy and happy future. No fancy equipment required, no gym memberships needed, no running, no burpees. It’s simple: five exercises, 1 minute each, once a day for a month. Ready join me?

Let’s do this! Here are the exercises:

Roll Ups – lay down on your back with your legs out straight and arms extended overhead. Take a deep breath in. As you breath out use your abdominal muscles to roll yourself off the floor into a seated position. Try to lift one vertebrae off the floor at a time without arching your low back. If you dont get all the way up, stop where you get stuck. Roll back down and repeat for 1 minute

Goddess Squat – standing with your feet apart. Make sure they are just outside shoulder width distance and your toes are pointed forward. Bend your knees as far as you can without lifting your heels up. Return to standing while squeezing your quads and booty on the way up. Repeat for 1 minute.

Arm circles – start standing with feet slightly apart. Raise your straight arms up to the sides so your hands are even with your shoulders. Keeping your arms straight, make circles forward and backward. Size doesn’t matter, make them big or small, make them big and small, just keep moving those straight arms for 1 minute.

Crossover toe touch – start standing with feet wide (slightly wider than goddess squat) and arms out to the sides like in the arm circles. Keeping legs and arms straight, reach your right arm towards your left leg by bending slightly at the waist and twisting your torso. If you can make contact with your knee, shin, or ankle GREAT! If not, just reach as far as you can. Return to standing and repeat on the other side, again taking care to keep legs and arms extended straight. Repeat on each side as many times as you can for 1 minute.

Plank – start laying on the ground. Place your hands (with fingers pointed forward) directly underneath your shoulders and flex your feet so the balls of your feet are in contact with the floor. Take a deep breath in. As you exhale, lift your body off the floor by pushing into the floor with hands and feet and straightening your arms. Maintain the body alignment by squeezing your thighs, booty, and core.Hold as long as you can, lower carefully back down with control. If you can’t straighten your arms and come all the way up, that’s okay! Try to push yourself up while keeping your knees on the ground. Again, make sure to squeeze your legs, booty, and core to keep the back nice and straight. You don’t have to hold plank for a full minute, just hold as long as you can and repeat as many times as you can in that 1 minute.

That’s it! While this will not transform you into a body builder in a single month, these are total body exercises that will challenge you. As you work through the month you should find that it gets easier to complete these moves. You should see an increase in the number of reps you can complete in each 1-minute round. All of this is progress – a sweet affirmation that your effort and time are well spent.

Now that you have the moves, the plan is totally up to you. You can do these moves pretty much anywhere and adapt the schedule to fit your lifestyle. Let’s say that you have a hectic day and forget your workout one day. Fear not, just double up the next day. Maybe you’re going out of town for the weekend and know you won’t have the time. Feel free to work ahead! Let’s say you’re like me and you sit at a desk all day, why not use the 1-minute rounds to take a break from being seated? Just so you know, I’ve been caught doing squats or planks in an empty conference room many times…If they ask, I just tell people I was getting tired and needed to wake up – they buy it EVERY time!

There will be good days and bad days, but they are all important. There will be days that we don’t get our workout in, despite our best efforts. Keep at it anyway. It will be hard – that’s why it’s called a challenge! Starting small, dedicating roughly 5 minutes a day, we can develop great habits that will stay with us in the long run. This challenge will prove that dedication and consistency, even in small doses, can bring us closer to our goals.

Will you join me this May in the 5-minute challenge? I sure hope so. Think of all the positive feelings you will enjoy after completing it. If you can make progress with 5 minutes a day, imagine what you can do by giving just a little more.

Best of luck to you my fierce fabulous femmes!

When Did You Get So Big?

On separate occasions over the weekend my husband and I picked up our daughter and were shocked by how big she felt in our arms. At one point we asked her, “When did you get so big?”

I don’t think she really knew how to answer that question because VHP’s response was a very contemplative “um, um, um..” while trying to figure out an answer. I’m not so sure that my husband or I knew exactly when either, but by the end of the weekend that we had a better idea.

During church it was time for the children’s moment and we asked VHP, “would you like to go up there by yourself or with mama?” Her response was an emphatic, “MYSELF!” So off she went to the front of the sanctuary. My heart had a little pang of longing to go with her, but I stayed put and watched to see what she would do. She sat for the children’s time and listened to the pastor. She folded her hands, bowed her head, and prayed during the prayer. When all was said and done, she sat for a few minutes after the other children got up, and eventually made her way back to sit with us.

So when did my little girl get so big? Was it Sunday morning? Was it when she no longer wanted to nurse? Will it be when she goes to kindergarten? Was it when she slept through the night as a newborn? Will it be when she goes to high school? For now, it’s when she didn’t need me on Sunday morning.

Even though I may not want to think about my daughter growing up so much, her going off to kindergarten, or eventually being in high school, she’s growing and will continue getting SO big. We might not always recognize these moments of growth when they happen, but these moments pull at our heartstrings nonetheless.

Despite our hopes that our children will remain our babies forever, they grow and progressively need us less. It’s nice to feel needed, but it’s also encouraging to see our babies become their own little person.

Favorites of the Moment

On any given day of the week there are a few things that will always be my favorite: coffee, chocolate, red wine, Grey’s Anatomy, Friends, gummy bears, Florence + the Machine, and Carla Bruni. One of these things can help turn a less than stellar day right around to happy town.

Then the day you comes when you discover new favorites. You wonder if they could ever replace your previous true loves. May be they can’t, may be they can, or at least they can come pretty darn close. I’ve recently discovered some new favorites working their way to my always a favorite list.

My recent discoveries:
Have you heard Jess Glynne’s album I Cry When I Laugh? If not, it’s a must! I’ve had this album on repeat ALLLLL week! I. Am. In. Love.

Do you love ice cream? I do, and I was DEVASTED to realize I had a dairy allergy a few years ago. I’ve been on the hunt for a good dairy free alternative, but nothing matched up to what I was missing. I could find nothing with interesting flavor combos until I discovered Ben & Jerry’s dairy-free ice cream. I had high hopes for this being delicious, and oh is it scrumptious. If you haven’t given it a try, go do it now!

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Blog writing, watching @greysabc and enjoying @benandjerrys dairy free ice cream make this the perfect way to end my Thursday.

A post shared by The91Rewind (@the91rewind) on Apr 21, 2016 at 6:34pm PDT

There’s been lots of talk here on HebrewDawn about caring of ourselves physically… drinking enough water or getting healthy through exercise. Something we haven’t talked about yet is taking care of our skin. My favorite way to take care of my skin is using Fresh Sugar Lip Treatment. We all know we need to use sunscreen to protect our skin, but we often forget our lips. I am in LOVE with this stuff. It’s worth every penny and I’m on my second tube of this stuff!

Do you have any favorite things making your days a little bit happier?

Happy weekend!

Getting Over the Hump

After a rocky start to the week, let me begin by saying congratulations for making it this far. Wednesday is always a big moment in the week for me; it’s my benchmark to evaluate what boxes I’ve checked off the to-do list and which ones still remain. Sometimes there is a shuffling of priorities, sometimes there is deep sigh of relief. This week it’s neither of these. It’s more of a shift into overdrive.

I had a conversation with my mortgage planner Sally yesterday that really lit a fire under my (sculpted) ass. She and I were talking about saving money. I was frustrated and said I should just give up on buying a house until I made more money. Sally said, “If you choose that path, you will probably never buy a home. If you don’t want to do it, you don’t have to. But if you do, you need to try harder. It seems that you have the tools, but you lack discipline and unfortunately sweetie, that’s on you.”

To say I was frustrated when we hung up the phone would be an understatement. The truth is that Sally was right-she had called me out.

It’s easy to put effort into the things we enjoy. Ask anyone, I will gladly wake up at 5am for yoga class or plan a 2-3 hour run on a weekend morning. It wasn’t always this way though. I remember, not so long ago, I couldn’t be bothered to rise before noon on the weekends. The only cardio I got was dancing the night away after downing a truckload of cocktails. How on earth did I get where I am now? The answer: lots of hard work over the span of several years. I ran my first 5k in 2012; while I wouldn’t run my first marathon until years later, I had to start somewhere. It made me a little proud to reflect on the lifestyle changes I’ve made so far, but it also led me to an epiphany of sorts.

Since roughly December I’ve been in a stalemate; weight is not budging, running times aren’t improving. Nothing seems to be progressing despite what I perceive as boatloads of hard work. Perusing my training logs confirms that I am indeed putting forth tremendous effort. But it’s all on the same activities, the same routines I’ve done for years now. I’ve been grinding away in my little run/dance/yoga comfort zone. While my workouts keep me happy, I can’t ignore the lack of progress.

When I reflect on my diet I see another cycle. A few days of “clean eating” (there’s that hard work again) followed by a couple of, what I like to call, bottomless pit days. It’s like clockwork; the first part of the week I’m determined to get on the right path and inevitably it falls apart days later. I try to keep healthy foods on hand and I enjoy making meals from fresh local ingredients, so I’ve never logged calories. Why bother if I’m making good choices?

I’m left with one major question-why is my hard work not working? Are my goals unrealistic? Possibly. Am I just plain lazy? Surely not. I’m capable of hard work, I’ve proven it to myself before. As I reflected, I thought back to my conversation with Sally. “You can’t just want something really bad, snap your fingers, and make it happen. If we could do that, we wouldn’t appreciate anything at all..”

I realized the reason I’m stuck in my fitness rut is the same reason I was scared to death about saving money for a down payment. It was uncharted territory, and it was going to be hard-really hard. Was that a reason to give up? Hell no! I pride myself on doing things people think are impossible. It’s fun to test oneself and even more fun to be surprised by what you can accomplish with great effort. Why on earth was I not looking at my homebuying and fitness goals with the same optimism? Fear-of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of disappointment. I’ve been justifying fear with excuses instead of tackling it head on.

Having that said, I’m going to try new things as I focus on saving money for my first home. I’ve started tracking my calories in an app as opposed to just journaling. My hope is that over the long term, I will gain insight into what’s causing my yo-yo patterns and develop more balanced eating behaviors. I also want to take ownership of how I fuel my body. In the short term, this activity will give me accountability-if I don’t log my intake, the app will send me a message to remind me to login.

I’m also going to focus on my running from a strength perspective instead of just logging miles and analyzing the average pace. I began running to enjoy the outdoors and try something new. I’ve stuck with it as much for enjoyment as for my sanity. Instead of getting so caught up in the races and finish times, I’m ready to dedicate time to the journey. Building a stronger foundation i.e. body will help keep me running for years to come. Again this is going to be uncomfortable; speed workouts, hill repeats, lifting heavy things…sweating it out in the gym is NOT what I do; but, if it will strengthen my ability to do something I really love, it’s worth a shot, right?

I’ve realized now that I’ve been trying to make difficult things easy. Choosing the path of least resistance and resting on my accomplishments. In doing so, I’m robbing myself of personal growth. I’m nervous and excited to take this new approach and be a little more honest with myself. I may struggle and have to face some harsh realities but maybe that’s what I need right now? It took a financial professional to point it out, but I’m ready to get over the hump and get growing 🙂

What’s something that inspires, but also scares the beejeezus out of you? Does it seem impossible, implausible, or unrealistic? Whatever it is, take a moment; embrace all the optimism you can and try to visualize success in that venture. What would it look like? What would it mean to you? Would that feeling of success make all the hard work worth it? Sometimes it’s all a matter of perspective. Building the city of Rome was extremely arduous, but after all it wasn’t done in a day.

I will leave you with a quote from the great Henry Ford

Happy humpday dolls!

I Have Something to Tell You

Hello Beautiful,

I’m not sure how you’re doing today or how your week is going, but I have something I want to tell you.

Take moment to open your heart and listen…

No matter what you think or may try to tell yourself,

you are enough.

You are beautiful enough to be loved.

You are strong enough to do what feels impossible.

You are mom enough to work and leave your child in the hands of another caregiver.

You are woman enough to work alongside all men.

You are mom enough to stay home and put your career on hold.

You are woman enough to do what brings you the most joy.

You are enough when you’re tired.

You are enough with or without makeup.

Forget the naysayers.

Forget the the doubters.

Forget the ones just playing devil’s advocate.

Don’t let anything hold you back from doing what’s on your heart, your mind, or your wish list.

More than anything, I hope you know that you are enough even when your cup feels dry.

Plain and simple, you are enough.

Strong Women

With Tuesday being Equal Pay Day, helping women be strong has been on my mind a lot. Getting us to a point of equality in our pay checks still requires much work, but I believe there are a few things that can help us get there.

1. Support one another. No matter how old we may be, we always need encouragement to be the strongest we can be, AND we have a role in encouraging the women around us. If you’re a woman or know a woman that could benefit from a group of women encouraging you or them through ups and downs, I have the Facebook group for you. It’s a small but mighty group of women, who share words of encouragement are there to support one another.

2. Look out for one another. I’m slightly sad that it took a man to create a safer alternative to Uber and other taxis services, but glad that he did. No matter who we are, or what gender we may be, looking out for each other is what we should do. I’m excited to see if Chariot for Women is as good and safe as it sounds.

3. Don’t stop speaking up for one another. Some of us be unable to speak out about their situation, and it’s up to those of us that can to do it. A great is example, is our First Lady is speaking up on the importance of education for girls. How else are we going to get equal pay here in the U.S.A and internationally if we are not equally educated?

4. Give up competiting with one another. Far too often we want to show how we are bigger, better, or stronger than the person next to us. We are each trying to do the best we can, the last thing we need is to belittle one another.

Hitting the Road by Foot

I’ll never forget going to my first podiatrist when my foot problems started years ago and he insisted that the cause of my problems was that I was a runner. I insisted that I was anything but a runner, and he failed to believe me. At that point in my life, you couldn’t get me to run unless a bear was chasing me. But maybe the one good thing about this doctor was that he had a sense for something that I didn’t yet know. That one day I would be hitting the road by foot.

Once my left foot was better, I decided to give running a shot again. I wasn’t quite sure where to begin. I had tried some of the couch to 5K plans before, and didn’t have much luck. I even tried running on the treadmill without success too. Determined that I’d get my butt in shape, I decided I should reach out to Erica who had been running pretty seriously for awhile. I was a little intimidated to ask for her advice, because she was running miles at a time. I hadn’t run a mile since high school and here I was asking this athlete for running advice. What if she tried to get me to run miles too?

Turns out I had nothing to fear. Her running advice was really simple and completely approachable.

Run as far as you possibly can, and then walk back.

What?! That’s it??? Run as far as I can and walk back? What if I only make it a few blocks?

Yes, that will be great! Run as far as you can, then walk back. Each time you go for a run you’ll make it farther, because you’ll want to beat what you did before.

This advice was so simple, but so true. Each time I hit the road I made it a little bit farther. I would even break into a run on the way back home. I focused on my breathing and would have 30 to 60 minutes of peace with myself and nature. It was bliss by foot that I had never experienced before. While I can’t say that I’m a lover running, I have found renewed confidence in my ability to run and an appreciation for spending time outdoors.
I’m working on getting myself back out on the road by foot or bike because I need to get healthy. Want to join me? How will you get fit?