inspiring ladies

Source: facebook.com via Traci on Pinterest

For a little over a month now I have been working it out in the mornings with a very amazing group of ladies.  I found Stroller Strides Ann Arbor on Facebook before moving here in July of 2011 while contemplating what the heck I was going to do as a stay-at-home mom (I never really thought I'd find myself in this role) and how I was going to manage losing all of the baby weight with, well, a baby.  It took me a long time to actually attend a class, but once I did I was hooked.  I remember saying to one of the ladies during a class that it was the workout that got me to the class, but the promise of great friendships that kept me coming back.  I feel so lucky now to have met all of these ladies and, if I had regrets, waiting so long to get to a class would certainly be one of them.

Today one of the ladies asked me what the motivation was behind starting my blog.  It's had me thinking all morning.  When I had a baby, left my job, and moved my life to Ann Arbor, I began to feel incredibly lost.  All of these amazing things were finally happening in my life, but they all also required me to abandon a place in my life that I had worked very hard to get to (at least that was how I felt about everything as the post-pregnancy hormones surged through my body).  But as a new wife and mom, I felt a deep desire and need to support and take care of my little family as we entered this new phase of our lives.  My husband was getting ready to start law school and I wanted to make sure he had everything he needed from me to do well and devote as much time to his coursework as needed.  And Ella, she was just two months old when we arrived and I wanted to do everything right for her: nurse her for a year, make all of her baby food, sign her up for classes, make sure she had plenty of time to socialize with other babies, keep her on a good routine and as healthy as possible.  All of these desires, I think, are perfectly normal for any mom and wife.  But being consumed by them began to separate me from myself.  I was trying so hard to pour myself into my new roles, treating them as I often did my previous job, that I left myself little to no time to take care of me.

I owe it to my daughter to take the time to take care of me.  To take care of ALL the parts of me;  to make sure I'm physically healthy so I can teach her good habits and be around for as long as I can, and emotionally healthy so I can engage with her and truly enjoy my time with her, thereby teaching her to enjoy the world and people around her.  Finally getting myself to Stroller Strides has definitely helped encourage good physical health.  Starting this blog has done wonders for the later.

And rather than focusing on being perfect (I am a perfectionist to a fault), I am forcing myself (finally) to just enjoy the journey of it all.

Check out these blogs by a few of these very inspiring stroller striding ladies:

Chez Napier
Paper Hat Gal
Stroller Strides Ann Arbor

We may not be professional bloggers, but we are sharing what we love and there isn't anything much better than that.