I’m not an anxious, worrisome person. I tend not to fixate on issues, and have really been working on understanding there are things I can’t control or do anything about. In terms of working through the mental part of this pandemic, at times I’ve taken a laissez-faire attitude toward information overload. Normally I am all over the news, but I have found myself feeling overwhelmed by all the Covid coverage.
That being said, I do like to be informed and like everyone, I have things at stake. Well, it seems that the latest focus relating to Covid-19 is the reopening of schools. You’ve got people on all sides of the issue, each with valid reasons, either for or against bringing kids back into schools.
For me, there’s a part that says kids need to be back in school safely for purposes of their education and socialization, both of which are vital for their development. I have seen the detrimental effects of both on my own students (children with disabilities) as well as my own children (14, 11, and 2). To be sure, there are no easy answers, nor will there be any solution that pleases everyone, nor will there be any decisions made that don’t ultimately cause 1,000 other problems of their own. It’s pretty much an impossible situation.
So what is this doing on this blog, which is supposed to be about fitness, motivation, and inspiration? I’ll explain. One thing I have come to understand on the last few years of life’s journey is that wellness, fitness, and health are not limited to one’s physical self. Indeed, while you run the risk of not being able to live without taking care of your physical well-being, if you neglect your mental well-being, you run the risk of not being able to survive.
Think about it: you can’t take care of anything until you take care of yourself.
I’m getting into a roundabout dissertation on the way to the story I want to share today. Forgive me, but when I was a journalism major in college, I was chided in red ink for being too florid and using up too much space with my extra words. I guess I haven’t learned that lesson.
Anyway, with my interest piqued by the debate about reopening schools, it’s renewed a certain sense of urgency in my wife and I (both teachers) to square away childcare for our 2-year old when (if?) we go back to work in late August or early September. We believe we have options, which is a plus.
But where we are concerned we don’t have an option is when it comes to our little one wearing a mask back at daycare. Bless his heart, he can be very stubborn, independent, strong-willed, and petulant. I mean, he is two.
So what happens when he shows up at daycare and won’t wear a mask?
It was with that idea this morning that I left my early AM conversation with my dear wife to go do my morning meditation before our morning workout (see how I’m incorporating mental health and physical on this blog?) For the first time since I gained an interest in meditation (which was admittedly only a few months ago), I decided to look for one about relieving worry and anxiety. That tight chest feeling that I couldn’t shake surely could be shaken by a good visualization and mind liberation.
The Honest Guys meditations are really soothing, comforting, uplifting, etc. So I chose one of theirs. But as I was encouraged to see my worries lifting toward an ever growing cloud above me, only to be carried away on the atmosphere’s winds, to disappear over the horizon and never be seen again, I just couldn’t shake the feeling of worry in my chest. There were too many thoughts about my little man in a mask, his beautiful smile shielded from sight, his little sneezes stuffed inside a piece of cloth snug against his face, his almost certain unwillingness to even try to tolerate a mask, and the idea of how outrageous it is for anyone, MUCH LESS A TWO-YEAR OLD, to be expected to wear a mask for 8 hours.
Again, things I can’t control. Working on it.
My meditation ended, and I wasn’t at my best. It really hadn’t done much for me. But on the screen when I opened my eyes was a gentle image of a lake framed by a few leafy branches dancing on the breeze. Man did it look peaceful. What is it about water? The stillness, the repetition, the cleanliness, the opportunity, the endlessness? Whatever it is, I mean, water just gets me.
So I stared at that for a while until my wife joined me in the basement, ready to work out, but needing to provide a little therapy instead. What was I grateful for this morning? So much, but especially my angel.
We talked about this for another 20 minutes, baby monitor silently watching us as a reminder that there’s only so much time before we’re in parent mode. We usually start our workout by 6. Today? Not until 6:30!
I wasn’t even feeling it. Didn’t really want to do it. The heavy chest feeling messes with you, and tells you useless, troubling things. Today, it told me I don’t have to workout, I should take a break, I should focus on what’s bothering me. Thankfully I have a wife who knows better. We pushed play, got ourselves moving, and by the time we got to about 15 minutes in, I said, “I’m so glad we’re doing this workout.” That heavy chest feeling was gone, and it hasn’t been back since.
I guess I’m glad I got to workout today, because my day started off in a troubling place. I guess I’m glad I was able to pick myself up, because honestly, the day has gone much better than I ever anticipated it going. I’m grateful.
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Update on 2B Mindset
- Four days in and I have to make a point to drink more Water First before eating. I’ve been drinking a minimum of 200 ounces of water each day, but I want to time it better to fill me up more.
- I am really enjoying Veggies Most. My wife made sesame chicken last night and I asked her to make enough of the sauce so we could have it on broccoli. I filled 2/3 of my plate with the broccoli, about 1/4 with chicken, and the rest with rice. So satisfying. For lunch, I had a bowl of peppers, carrots, and mushrooms with hummus and guacamole. So refreshing on a hot day. Breakfast this morning was two scrambled eggs atop half an English muffin loaded with caramelized onions and sauteed peppers and mushrooms, along with a couple of pieces of feta. What a texture and flavor treat!
- The Scale has been a highlight of the morning, even this morning when it showed a .3 gain. The idea is that the scale is a tool, not for judgement, but for figuring out what works for your body. I ate a later dinner last night and had a snack that was probably too carb heavy. (Side note: it was these awesome Banana Oat muffins from Cookie & Kate that I made for my son because he loves cupcakes. I modify by using less sweetener and adding veggies, because heavens forbid he would ever try one off his plate, or anyone else’s for that matter! This latest batch was my most ambitious. I put carrots and zucchini in. I guess when you also throw in some chocolate chips, you don’t notice!)
- Tracking has been a mostly faithful exercise – if you bite it, you write it. However I do need to do a better job of putting specific amounts. Sometimes you don’t realize how much you’re taking.
Make It Happen 