Core work

I sometimes wonder if some of my habits on my weight loss journey are sending the wrong message to my boys, for example when I was weighing myself daily (which I have actually not been doing for once, hooray!) and seeing the boys rush over to weigh themselves, too.  It was cute to see them imitating Matt and I, but I've often wondered if this is sending them the wrong message.  I certainly don't want my boys to be obsessive about their weight, but I do want them to be healthy.  There are, of course, other habits that I do hope they emulate; healthy eating (I should probably be a better role model in this area; hot fudge is not a food group) and regular exercise, so I was tickled tonight when Nick wanted to help me with my core work.

Before my Dad died, I was in a good grove of doing sit-ups and planks every night, but then I fell off the wagon and it's taken me until now to get back on the wagon.  I told Nick I was going to do sit-ups after I got Jack to sleep and he sweetly said "Mom, I will help you do your sit-ups and pranking."  Pranking = 6 year old lingo for planking, for the record.  So he helped me keep track of my sit-ups (100) and then told me that he was going to do 200 (!) because one time in gym, he did 79 sit-ups in 60 seconds.  He made it to 33, but it was great and I loved that he wanted to do sit-ups, too.

He was also very sweet and encouraging when I was doing my planks.  A few months ago, I was doing 20 second planks three times in a row.  I was pleasantly surprised tonight that I was able to do 30 second planks, although I was struggling during the last one.  For the last few seconds of each plank, Nick would gently rub my back and say "It's ok, Mom.  I'm here.  You're doing great."  How I love that kid (and his little bro, too)!

We had a really lovely celebratory lunch at work today in honor of my upcoming Napa Ragnar experience.  I wanted to do a little something to say thank you to my friends at work for all of the support and help with my entry, so I ordered pizza from our favorite local pizza place and we indulged (there may have also been some cinnamon sticks involved, but we have no regrets).  My friend, Stacy, brought some sparkling grape juice to toast with and I promised them that I would bring back delicious wine from Napa so that we could celebrate again when I get back, after work hours, of course!  I don't think I can say enough how much I appreciate my friends helping me with this project, but it meant the world to me!

I loved Stacy's toast and wanted to share it as my quote for today (Stacy, I think I got it right, but if I didn't, let me know!  It was so lovely, I don't want to forget it), because I think not only is it fitting for Napa, but also for running in general for me.  I never knew where running would take me when I set out on this journey and I am thankful for the memories and experiences that it has provided me.  So to my fellow running friends:

"May your legs be long and your stories be even longer."