Although I slept well, I didn't really get the amount of sleep I would have liked. But it's almost the weekend. Trips to and from the hospital are over.
For the next 2 months, we have to go to the doctor every 10 days.
I grabbed some coffee, and off we went. When we got home, I made sure he had everything, so he could sleep more. You see; sleeping can be painful. Weird isn't it? The one thing your body needs, and it's a cause of stress to find a way to be comfortable.
I was looking over his medications which were now increased. The doctor gave me a list of medications to stop immediately, another list to continue, and another list of new medications. It made it easy. I went to the pharmacy and handed them my list.
I pulled out my grocery list. He needs to eat a vegetable & protein rich diet, but there are over 20 veggies and fruits that he is not allowed. Kale: NO (lucky duck). Spinach: NO. Broccoli: NO. Asparagus: NO. blueberries: NO. Blackberries: NO. and on and on and on.
That's pretty much everything we keep at the house.
When I got home, he was hungry. This was the first time he's been hungry. He ate and went to sleep.
I went running. I thought about when I was at the pool yesterday. I was talking to another masters swimmer. She said, "You've probably skipped all your workouts this week, right? Your husband needs you at the hospital." The implication being that I wasn't a supportive spouse.
I didn't take it personally.
I can only assume that many people view exercise like that, as something they feel they have to do. It's a burden. When life get's in the way, they can excuse exercise away, "My spouse needs me. Work needs me. My kids need me."
I've been active my entire life. I was doing aerobics with Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons. When I went to high school, I joined track because of a boy.
Who would have thought that a little crush would turn into a lifetime of being active.
Running, swimming, biking....these things are part of me. I can't give them up anymore than I can give up the air I breath. No matter what is going on in my life, doing some sort of exercise is how I stay in touch with myself.
In an earlier post this week, I talked about "making yourself a priority". This is something that I learned a long time. I have lived my life this way for about 12 years. But I didn't always.
I want to explain what it means to me.
Making yourself a priority doesn't mean having an obsession with exercise. It doesn't mean doing triathlon or running a marathon. In fact, I have seen many athletes form a very unhealthy relationship with exercise.
It means:
saying "No" a lot.....a whole lot.....women in particular struggle with this. It means saying No to that job you hate or the boss who doesn't appreciate you. It means saying "NO" to family when they are pulling you in too many directions. Remember, taking care of yourself is not selfish.
Saying "No" to toxic people. Cut out toxic people and don't look back. THESE are the selfish people. Not YOU. People will only take advantage of you if you let them.
Saying "No" to any event or activity that you really don't want to do. You don't even have to give a reason.
Saying "No" when everyone else is saying YES. Avoid bandwagons. Do your own thing. Do what you enjoy NOT what is the latest fad. Sure, give it a try if it seems interesting. About 4 years ago, I tried crossfit. I did it for a month. It wasn't my thing.
Saying "Yes" to things you enjoy.
Saying "Yes" to going to bed and waking up on a schedule that works for you.
Saying "Yes" to really great food. Mr. Tea always jokes about how I love food more than anyone he's ever met. It's true. I love food. I love really good food. Life is too short to skip out on dessert or a fantastic meal.
Saying "Yes" to being nice to yourself. Remember: If you wouldn't say it to someone else's face, don't say it to yourself at all.
In other words, it's about healthy relationships, with people, with food, with exercise, with yourself.
Business owners have a saying, "Do you run your business? Or does your business run you?"
You can insert any of word instead of "business". "Do you run your training? Or does your training run you?"
"Do you run your life? Or does your life run you?"
Make yourself a priority. How? Sit down and list out the most important things to you. Cross off everything until you get to the two or three most important things to you. Every decision you make goes toward achieving those goals. Simple? Yes. Easy? Not at the beginning.
One day, you'll wake up and realize all your fucks are gone. You've got no more left to give. That's when you've made yourself a priority.
