Complaints

So this was going to be a post of complaints.  I was planning on complaining about my kids being continuously sick over these last couple of months.  I was going to complain about how I've only made it to the gym a couple of times per week because of these feverish, coughing, balls of snot. 

I was going to complain about how my drive to get my kids to eat better has not yet produced mini foodies.  I even had a quote ready: "There's nothing that spoils the taste of good ordinary food half so much as the memory of bad magic food." - C.S. Lewis.

But, as my laptop was warming up, the doorbell rang.  The FedEx guy left me a present on my front step.  I opened it, and immediately remembered why I set out to do this in the first place.  My challenges in life are small and ordinary. 

Why I Really Love Swimming...

My number one reason I love swimming?

My husband.

Swimming at the gym is like our new date night.  Drop the kids off at childwatch for an hour and then swim, side by side, in lycra.  Sexy, right?

I imagine all the other crazy swimmers thinking "What is that super-fast, hairless, professional swimmer doing talking to that slow (non-svelte) chick?  Oh wait, I bet she's taking swimming lessons from him.  Did she just pat his butt?  Maybe she's trying to get a discount.  Good luck, lady.  He's way out of your league.  I wonder if he would be interested in coaching me?  I'll have to ask him for his card...."

Sorry crazy swimming people with the underwater mp3 players.  He's all mine.

Why I love Swimming

For the longest time, swimming was the reason I refused to do a triathlon.  I would hang out at the triathlon "functions" and get asked by numerous tan, skinny, rich, middle-aged women if I too, did triathlons.  In my head, I would answer, "Yeah, right." and out loud, I would answer "I just run.  Two adults training for three sports with three small kids is just too much."  They would nod their blond heads and think, I'm sure, how it was better for them, because if I did compete, I would kick their butts (ha ha).  Well watch out ladies, I'm all in now.

When I thought I was going to do a triathlon a couple of summers ago, the swimming is what made me quit.  I felt like a wet cat just trying to stay alive. I knew I had to look ridiculous, and the whole endeavor (one month of swimming at the Y) exhausted me. I felt I never got stronger, faster, or even looked better doing it. My husband told me that even when he was first learning to swim competitively, he was still enjoying himself.  I was NOT enjoying myself, so I figured I was not cut out for swimming.

I don't know what made me decide to try this crazy triathlon thing again.  I think it was my husbands nonchalant passing down of his FELT road bike.  His true reason behind the "gift" was so he could get a new road bike for himself, but this went over my head.  I decided it was a sign that this was my year to do a triathlon myself.

So I read and read as much as I could about swimming.  I watched videos on youtube and ordered books from Amazon and then... just jumped in.

And now I honestly love it.

I love how quiet swimming is.  Underwater, there is nothing but silent bubbles in my ears and my thoughts in my head.

I love how it works every single muscle in my body.  It is a stretch, strength, cardio workout all in one.

I love walking around the locker room in my competition style suit and fancy TYR swim cap.  I know this sounds ridiculous because I'm not very pretty in a swimming suit, but I feel like a hardass when I'm strutting my stuff in the showers.  No one has to know how super slow I really am.

I love not wearing makeup or not doing my hair and having the excuse "I'm swimming later today" or "I just finished swimming."

I love how solitary swimming is.  Even when all the lanes are full, you're in your own world underwater.  I sometimes imagine I'm swimming out into the middle of the ocean, nothing in front of me, nothing besides me, and everything below me.  I hope I can dive in the middle of the ocean for real someday.

I love that if I was in a shipwreck, I could totally survive for an hour or two, at least.

I love that I'm setting a good example for my kids.  I desperately want my kids to be confident swimmers.  Swimming is by far our family's favorite summer pastime, but I will never get over the fear of my kids drowning.

I love how clean I feel afterwards.  Weird, I know, but I'm not sweaty or smelly after swimming.  I do shower after each swim, but the faint scent of chlorine follows me everywhere I go.  I like it because it reminds me of a freshly cleaned sink.

Other New Year's Changes I'm Making

So in addition to the whole triathlon thing, I've informally resolved to do a few other things differently in my house.

1.  The first, and by far the hardest (harder than swimming 500 meters, for sure) is to make one dinner every night.  Many of you have met my sweet blond kiddos.  You probably also have heard me complain about their pickiness.  I am perfectly aware that I have created these chicken nugget monsters, and I am the only one who can change them.  So every night, I am now making one meal and serving it to everyone, no matter what the backlash. 

This is hard for several reasons.  Patrick works until 9:00, so I am often the only adult eating.  I would much rather throw together a salad for myself every night and feed the kids a frozen pizza.  It is so much easier on me and the kids go to bed with full tummies. 

Now, I am putting together a simple, slightly healthy, but kid friendly meal each night and serving it to everyone, including myself.  Sometimes this means grilled chicken and salads, sometimes this means spaghetti.  There is no more "grown-up dinner" and "kid dinner."  Jackson has done fairly well at trying new things and likes what he tries 80% of the time.  Macy, on the other hand, usually goes to bed hungry, but doesn't complain too much.  Jackson's eagerness has helped me stick with this plan.  I am seeing that really, if there is no other choice, kids will eventually try something new.

I am not loving the meals so much (I would much rather have baked tilapia and roasted zucchini squash) but I keep telling myself that part of the problem was the huge discrepancies between our meals.  If we can meet in the middle, maybe someday I will be able to introduce the kids to seafood and salads.

2.  The next thing I'm trying to be better about in 2011 is teaching my kids compassion for others.  I think both Jackson and Macy actually have a pretty good sense of this, but I want to nurture it so they grow into caring teenagers and adults. 

My first task is nightly prayers.  It felt a little awkward at first, and I had a lot of questions to answer ("Mom, what does 'bless' mean?"), but we seem to be getting the hang of it.  Jackson always prays to protect his daddy at work, so this is a good start, but Macy is a little more difficult.  For the past few nights, she's been insisting we pray for "Hello Kitty." I'm not sure how to handle this, so I tell her she can ask God to bless Hello Kitty and I'll ask him to bless the sick babies at work.

3.  And last but not least, my obligatory resolution that I make every year:  floss once a day.

Oooh, Jillian Michaels...

Just busted my 30-Day Shred out of it's unopened package.  I thought this morning "Hey, I'll do a little 20 minute workout while the kids are out of school, and then we'll all head to the gym this afternoon for an extra swim workout."  No biggie.  Additionally, I thought, "Hey, I've done her Level One Shred before, I should kick it up a notch this morning and do Level Two."  No biggie.  And I used my FIVE pound weights for the first time.  Hmmmm....

Needless to say, my shoulders hurt quite a bit right now.  And I still haven't gone swimming yet.

The New Gym (ahem, Health Club?): Pros vs. Cons

Pros:

1. Longer childwatch hours
This is the biggest pro in my house.  Patrick and I have had trouble scheduling our workouts around the YMCA's ever-shrinking childwatch program. 

2. An in-house spa! (see cons, below)

3.  An in-house cafe! (again, see below)

4.  The indoor track.
The YMCA's indoor track is1/16th of a mile, carpeted, and really just a path to get to the locker rooms.  This is a real track with lanes, and it's 1/8th a mile. 

5.  So far, the pool has been pretty empty.   Not even a lifeguard around to silently laugh at me.  This is a big issue of mine. 

6.  The locker rooms are nicer than most hotels that I stay at.  Sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, free shampoo, free conditioner, free body wash, and FREE Q-TIPS.  This, my friends, is a blessing for those of us prone to swimmers ear.

7.  The childwatch has a three story climbing area (Think Monkey Business on a smaller scale), a half court basketball area, and a craft area.  (Possible con, kids don't want to leave).

8.  In the summer, OUTDOOR salt water pool.  Huge pro with me.


Cons:

1. Further away.  Still in Olathe, but a 10-15 minute drive, instead of 5 minutes to the YMCA.

2.  The childwatch doesn't change baby's diapers.  They page you to come and do it yourself (What?).

3. They have an in-house spa and cafe.  This could get pricey.

4.  The fancy keypads on the wooden lockers are more complicated than I anticipated.  I wandered around the office area in a wet swimming suit for quite some time, looking for someone who could unlock my locker for me. 

5.  The clientele are quite a bit more upscale than the good old YMCA.  I'm going to have to invest in some cuter gym clothes...

6.  My kids also seem to be a bit under dressed.  On the upside, a childwatch worker came to me today as I was putting on my kids' Wal-mart coats, and told me they were the only two kiddos (out of at least 20 or so) who helped her pick up toys when she asked.  I guess size 4 Northface coats and mini Ugg boots don't necessarily make for well-behaved kids. (I wouldn't mind finding a pair of those Ugg's second-hand, though.)

If anyone's curious, we're really not paying that much more for this fancy-schmancy place.  With the cop discount, it's only about 20 dollars more per month.  Considering the amount of money I anticipate saving this summer for the outdoor pool use, it should even out pretty nicely.

Bleh, snow.

Snow days seem like a good idea.  Before they happen.  Again and again.  We just joined a fabulous new gym yesterday and I can't get out of my driveway to try it out.  Boo.  My kids are stir-crazy and my baby has an ear infection.  I'm not a winter person.