Monday, December 7, 2009

To Be Calm Would Be Lovely

Early this morning, just after school drop off, in the cold dreary weather, I ran.

And it felt so good. To run just shy of three miles, without walking. Without stopping, except the occasional pause at an intersection. I saw a lot of things. A lot of interesting houses. Big angry barking dogs. People working. Broken sidewalks. A lot of broken things actually. Remember the tornado? I didn't take my music with, just ran with my thoughts blowing past my ears and swirling back around again.

I've been trying to do this for almost twelve weeks now. Three days a week. Just run. Or walk, or whatever I was supposed to be doing. I've made it a habit.

A good habit, cause the good Lord knows I've got my share of bad habits. Yes, sir. Bad.

Then I start to wonder about habits. How hard they are to make.

What do you want to make a habit in your life?

What habit do you want to break?

I wish I could get in the habit of not yelling at my kids. But they make me want to scream. To pull out my hair sometimes. I'm trying. I've been trying for a while to be a better parent. It is so very very....difficult. Slow progress, like the running. But really really worth it in the end.

Such glorious side effects of running and not yelling at your children. Health and happiness. I need a little happiness and so do they. We should all strive to be happy and calm. Wouldn't that feel wonderful? To be calm and not stress. "I'm trying. It's not easy, but I am trying."

9 comments:

  1. I'm so excited for you - running that far!! Have you done a 5K yet? Sounds like you are ready if you haven't!

    Keep up the hard work - you are helping yourself and your kids by running. It's an awesome stress reliever.

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  2. Constant happy and calm is a wonderful goal, but pretty unattainable I've found. I think the key is to have balance and constantly strive to be better in whatever ways that are most important to us.

    The fact that you're aiming high in your health and wellness and parenting is wonderous. Never settle, always aim higher is my motto.

    Someone once told me, "Once you're done changing, you're done" and it's so true.

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  3. Go you! How awesome! I think you'll find that the more you run, the more you'll WANT to run...trust me!

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  4. yay! what a nice post on success and hope. congrats on the running - seems harder to do as it gets colder (at least for us yankees) and being nice to your kids? HA! impossible! that's why I don't have any!

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  5. OMG, you can run three MILES? I ran three minutes once on the treadmill.
    :-/
    It sounds like the best part of it is the serenity it's bringing into your life---good luck with that! And yes, kids are scream-inducing. Good luck going up against the urge.
    :-)

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  6. This is my, like 50th, attempt to comment. Your blog hates me. :(

    Hearing you describe your run, and the way you feel, reminded me of that scene in What Women Want, where Helen Hunt is brainstorming to come up with an ad for running shoes. And it shows the feet slapping against the pavement...it's the only noise you hear....it's so focused.

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  7. to quit yelling at your children is hard to do but it can happen. I appreciate you understand they need happiness as Everybody needs happiness especially your children. Wouldn't life be a joy if we never had to yell at them. Remember your children love you and I'm sure you love them give them all the happiness you can. I use to yell at my children all the time until I realized their only human and they make mistakes as I do. I've always hated being yelled at nobody deserves to be yelled at.

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  8. You better not be smoking!

    I'm also a yeller that is trying to be a reformed yeller. And swearing, I need to stop the swearing.

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  9. They say it takes 21 days to make or break the cycle of a habit. I'm assuming that means the physical cycle, because the emotional cycle seems to always be in the background begging you to come back.

    Just like smoking and drinking and eating to extreme are difficult habits to get under control, it takes enormous discipline to begin a good habit. Twenty-one days, they say, is all it takes. Then you spend every subsequent 21 days for the rest of your life reinforcing those habits. And that is what they call life choices.

    Good on you for running and feeling the empowerment and joy in it. Isn't it awesome when we look back and recognize that we are doing things we couldn't do just a short while ago? I've been working on strengthening my muscles and can do regulation plank push ups now! Such a victory for me. I can't to a ton yet, but the stronger I get the more I will be able to do. Cause and effect in a rewarding way!

    I'm proud of you, Sugar!

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Now play nice and for every comment you leave, I'll buy you a pony.