Well That Was Awesome!

I’m no stranger to planning ahead.  But the little bit of extra prep work I did yesterday (pre-packing all the activity backpacks) seemed to make a MASSIVE difference to the cadence of our morning this morning.  I initially thought that perhaps I was just more relaxed knowing that I didn’t have to run around the house searching for an errant ballet slipper or tap shoe, or because we had those few extra minutes together because I wasn’t engaged in the aforementioned running around.  Regardless though, I was just so happy because the kids and I had a truly magical morning this morning.

After both kids were dropped off at their respective schools, I raced over to my new favourite gym, All In One, for an awesome WOD (workout of the day) with the fantastic Chris.  The cool down today after the workout was a 500m row . . . Chris told me to go slow.  I nodded, like I knew what he was saying, but in my head was thinking . . . yeah right . . . go slow . . .that doesn’t happen in my world.

And so, I started to row.  And for the first 150m, I was pulling at about 3/4 of my top speed.  Then Chris said “If I were doing this, I’d be drinking coffee while I did it”.  So I slowed down a bit – to about 1/2 my top speed.  And as I got into my last 100m, it struck me . . . He really did mean for me to go slow . . . and there was no reason why I couldn’t slow down.  I wasn’t chasing anyone . . . and no one was chasing me.  I could just row for the sake of rowing (and cooling down).  I could make each stroke deliberate and intentional.  I could focus on my form, my breath, my movement.  And I could enjoy it!

And after I left the gym, and started to go about my day, the lightbulb slowly started to turn on . . . maybe this morning went so well because we were all moving at a slower, more intentional pace.  I could focus on the kids; on what was important to them this morning; and I could even do a little of our “mommy school” work with them (more on that later) in a way that got them truly engaged.

So there it is; I was just handed another life lesson thanks to Crossfit (and Chris)!

And now to veer off on a totally different tangent, today is Monday, which mean’s it’s ladies’ night.  A few years ago, a few of the moms on my street started meeting up on a Monday night – it was summertime, and we’d have a glass of wine on someone’s porch after the kids had gone to bed.  Over the years, it’s morphed into a set weekly event; there’s some wine, a few treats, and we often have the Bachelor on in the background.  Since discovering Crossfit, and the effect that proper nutrition has on my ability to train (and quite frankly, on my ability to function in everyday life), I’m not so into wine and treats on a Monday night (I save that for Fridays).  So I’ve been working in some paleo treats.  The hands-down favourite so far has been peanut butter cups; and in honour of our first Monday of the fall season, I’ll be making them later this afternoon!