Juggling 202
What is your next step?
It’s been a long time since we added to this series. Probably because we were busy, you know, juggling. But if I’m being honest, it’s because this next step is as important as it is difficult, and it’s much harder to talk about than prayer.
I doubt there was much disagreement when last I wrote that the foundation for juggling the many aspects of a busy homeschooling life is prayer. We know that we need an active, healthy spiritual life, and we know that we need to make it a priority precisely because it’s so easy to put prayer on a backburner. We also typically accept that no matter how much we engage with the spiritual life, there is always a deeper level to pursue.
Whether we want to admit it or not, our physical health affects the rest of our lives in the same way. We need an active, healthy physical life, and we need to make it a priority precisely because it is so easy to backburner. This is especially true in a lifestyle like homeschooling, where the needs of so many other people are constantly pressing upon us. It’s far too easy to ignore our own health and fitness simply because there are just so many other things to do.
It’s also hard to talk about the physical life because so much of the internet is flooded with health and fitness influencers. Some of these people are well-meaning, some present information that is useful to us. But most of them are largely irrelevant to each of us, individually, regardless of their intentions or veracity.
You see, in the physical life, just like the in spiritual life, it does no good to compare our own situation with that of others. It misses the point. How often Suzy prays, goes to confession, or receives Holy Communion doesn’t really have anything to do with how often I pray, confess, and receive. How healthy Suzy eats or what diet she follows or how much she exercises are also completely beside the point. When we are truly honest with ourselves, we all know that there are things we can do to improve our health, and moreover, that when we do what we can to be healthier, we have better resources available to us for our families. This is true even when we are personally suffering from chronic health issues — just because I cannot train for a marathon doesn’t mean there aren’t things I know I can do to help my body.
I’m not going to tell you what you need to do; you probably already know that. What I will tell you is that even though I have never been a competitive sporty person, I have found ways to exercise and be active that continue to improve the quality of my life, and definitely help provide me with greater resources to handle the challenges life presents me. I have also, rather humbly and contritely, come to admit that the foods and drinks that I crave are not necessarily the ones I need to eat and drink in order feel my best.
I could tell you that I don’t drink alcohol, that my diet is high in protein and fresh vegetables and fruit, that I love to swim laps and go rollerskating and that I walk several miles almost every day, including hiking on rocky terrain. I could also tell you that I love my infrared sauna, breath work, and that I’ve been known to take cold plunges on occasion. If any of that inspires you, great! If it doesn’t, well, it doesn’t matter anyway, does it? The needs of our bodies are uniquely our own. What matters is that we each take the next step.
Remember that there’s no guaranteeing outcomes, though. Being healthy, eating and drinking the “right” things (whatever that means), moving our bodies and exercising appropriately — none of these things will guarantee that we will never deal with illness or injury. What they will do, though, is give us greater resources to draw upon if and when such things do befall us. Our bodies heal more efficiently when they have greater resources of health to draw upon.
So consider this post to be your gentle nudge that it’s always time to take steps to live a healthier life. Sometimes it’s as simple as remembering to drink enough water. Sometimes it’s learning how to climb a mountain.
I’ve been writing this post for over six months, but something that finally gave me the impetus to finish was my own experience since the new year. In 2023, we welcomed our sixth baby (my seventh pregnancy). To say that my body has been through the wringer is not an overstatement. With every child, I’ve found that the first year of the baby’s life is just as challenging for me, physically, as the pregnancy itself — the combination of hormones, lack of sleep, healing from the pregnancy itself, plus life in general, really means that my body doesn’t even start to come back to normal until after the fifteen-month mark. To top it off, I’ve been eating my emotions since I was ten, so my weight has always been something I’ve needed to manage. But the good news is that I’m losing the “baby weight” again, even in my forties, and I’m absolutely stronger than I was a decade ago. Even when it feels impossible, people, we can make changes that help.
So before I go, I want to make sure you’re aware of a resource that has been invaluable to me over the years.
I have given birth six times, and each time, I have dealt with different injuries and states of being that needed to be healed and rehabbed. Bethany Learn over at Fit2B Studio has been an integral part of my health journey since my third pregnancy. Her kind, understanding demeanor and excellent workouts have helped me strengthen my core and pelvic floor, as well as heal three different episodes of postpartum diastasis recti. Because of what I learned from Fit2B, my sixth pregnancy was my strongest.
Things I love about Fit2B:
The workouts don’t annihilate me (unlike ButtBuster5000 or whatever is trendy).
There’s a huge selection of short workouts under 15 minutes to fit my schedule.
I can choose a gentle workout when I’m low energy, or a challenging one when I need a little extra.
There is a ton of variety, so I don’t get bored doing the same thing all the time.
Listen. It cannot be overstated how different a healthy, strong core and pelvic floor feels from a weak or injured one. Pregnancy is hard, people. I know there were plenty of times I didn’t realize just how hard until I started to feel better.
The link below is an affiliate link, but only because Bethany is super generous and has such a huge heart for sharing her knowledge with the world. I would share this regardless.
If you’re looking for someone to meet you where you are, I can’t recommend Fit2B Studios enough. As Bethany says, “You are blessed and released.”