Tenacious

My daughter Lily is very tenacious. When she decides to do something, there is no stopping her. She learned how to ride a two-wheel bike when she was five because she wanted to. Wearing a helmet and kneepads, she taught herself how to rollerblade, because she wanted to. Ed and I don’t know where she got this tenacity, but it’s serving her well.Now she’s 8, and she’s learning how to knit. I expect that she will be wearing a scarf before the winter is over.

Lily knitting

I haven’t been knitting this winter. Instead, I’ve been gaining weight. It must be all the hibernating I’ve been doing. And the nibbling. The peanut butter crust here; the piece of cheese there; the leftover Christmas chocolates late at night. I decided today I was going to walk. The sun is shining and the temperature is hovering at the freezing point. My goal was to walk my usual two miles, the miles I had mapped out when I was in training for a certain 39 mile walk.

From sump pumps streaming water to melting snowbanks, sidewalks in our neighborhood are covered with patches of ice. About halfway through my walk, I saw a big, slippery patch ahead. I decided to move to the street to avoid it. As I walked down a driveway, I didn’t notice a small patch of ice at the bottom of the concrete.

I. completely. wiped. out.

My foot slipped out from under me. My hip crashed to the ground, my shoulder bashed into the blacktop, and I was surprised that I had fallen down so suddenly and so completely. Like I was the Queen of the Trampoline, however, I bounced back up, brushed off my hands, and kept walking.

I contemplated going around the short way, heading for home. I shook out my hip and my shoulder, which felt pretty good, and decided to finish my walk.

I just turned 44, I’m overweight, and I’m going to feel that fall in the morning. But I know where Lily gets her tenacity.

From me.

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Love/Hate Resolution Relationship

hate One of the reasons I don’t like resolutions is that they just don’t happen. I resolve to lose 20 pounds and they just don’t come off. Eat healthier? That doesn’t stop me from having a late night bowl of ice cream. Write more! Who can find the time? I certainly can’t. Life just keeps getting busier and busier.

I used to be the one who would sign up for step aerobics and attend class faithfully. (Yes, this was years ago. No one knew what Zumba was back then.) The classes would be busting at the seams in January. I would have to squeeze into the back corner of the room and if I was really unlucky, there wouldn’t be any steps left. I would have to do the routine on the floor, which was good, but not good enough. I couldn’t wait for all those New Year resolution-ers to give up.

Slowly, they filtered away, and by March, our class was the steady group of faithful attendees, and there was plenty of room (and aerobic steps) for everyone.

I haven’t been the faithful exercise class attendee for years.

And that’s why I

I lovelove New Year Resolutions. Every January, we have a chance to start over. To start again, make some goals for ourselves, and try to accomplish them. To revive old resolutions that we once accomplished and want to try again. To “keep on keeping on.” (Bonus points if you know which 2012 best seller that quote is from!)

I just love fresh beginnings. Don’t you?

Walking
I resolve to EXERCISE MORE!

Mama’s Losin’ It

I’m writing about 4.) Resolutions. Love’em? Hate’em? Tell us why. Make one? Talk about your resolutions or goals for 2013 for Writer’s Workshop today. Gretchen over at Second Blooming prefers the term “missions.” Stop by again tomorrow to read my Spin Cycle post on 5 missions for 2013!

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