Kicking Butt and taking names

When I was in 5th grade, one memory that stands out quite vividly is when my mom decided that she wanted to go walking with some ladies from our neighborhood.  She didn't want to go alone so she invited me to go with them.  It was winter and I remember bundling up in all of my snow gear and then sweating profusely as we briskly walked with mom's new friends.  I only remember this one walk because I think that was all there was for mom.  I believe that shortly after that she was in the hospital for one of her many visits.  It is this memory that has triggered a desire for me to start working out.  The reason?  I don't want to be frail and scrawny as I get older. 

So, Rick and I decided to motivate each other (actually he is motivating me).  Last Wednesday we borrowed P90x from a good friend and allowed it to kick our butts.  Seriously.  But while we are getting our trash kicked, I have never felt better!  Maybe it's because as I now pick up anything that has any weight to it at all, I can look down and see a growing bicep!  Feels Great.  now if I can just get that back fat and belly flab kicked, all would be well.

getting back to the basics

Last night I had about 1/2 hour to kill before I had to take Chase to soccer.  Looking around the house I thought to myself, "Hmm. . . house is clean enough, don't really want to start something new there.  Laundry is done enough.  Certainly not in the mood to go looking for clothes to wash.  Not enough time to try and start quilting the quilt (I'll discuss that on a later post).  Oh!  When is the last time you just sat down and played the piano like you used to?!"  so I did. 

Now I remember why I started, continued and loved piano lessons.  So the first step in "finding" the lost me, was getting back to one of the things I loved and playing because I love it.  Not because I had to practice a church choir song or prepare to play the organ in church.  But actually play music I love to play.  Good experience.  For anyone who may be reading this, Ali, please let me know what you loved to do when you were younger that you should probably not forget to do as you grow.

Where in the world did I put myself?

Almost 22 years ago I was about ready to give up my "self" and become the "self-less" mom I have been since then. I haven't regretted a single day. There are actually days I would love to live over again just because they were so much fun.

There have also been embarrassing moments, as a mom, that i would rather forget about. Oh, like the time I was so mad at the 15 year old Ali (she will never let me live this down so I might as well put it out there for all to see) that I accidently called her a "little s_ _ t". I NEVER swear so this was a really big deal. Please don't think I'm a horrible mom. OR there was the really embarrassing time that I was standing in the kitchen, Ali (again about 15) was standing upstairs in the loft and I was looking at her, yelling about something as I proceeded to try and walk through the closed screen door to the deck. Obviously the argument of the moment was quickly forgotten as both of us dropped to our knees in laughter.

That being said, now that my children are all growing up without me, whether I want them to or not, I realize that I am finding myself where I think that many other women in the history of mommies find themselves at one point or another. Maybe some just arent brave enough to admit it.

I think I have lost myself. It's not a tragic event. Just one that will require some creativity and bravery on my part. So. . . . This is my quest and I will probably take you along with me and my journey to find Lisa Christine Hughes Evenson. All of those names mean something so special to me. I'll save that for another post. In the meantime, wish me luck. This should be nothing but fun!