To every mother out there, friend, family, whomever reads this blog – if you are a mother – I salute you! I have the greatest respect for motherhood, because it is a challenge I was always afraid to meet. I never had maternal instincts, and knew it was the hardest job in the world, so I always believed if I couldn’t be the best, I shouldn’t do it at all. Since Eric felt the same way about fatherhood, we were set!
Nevertheless, watching my sister raise my niece and nephew, my friends raise their babies, and knowing how hard it was for my mother to raise three girls (and do a fabulous job), I knew what great motherhood was and is.
My friend Laurie called today to find out how we’re doing. I thought it was amazing that SHE was calling ME on Mother’s Day, considering she has a baby, Luke, who will be three. She is a fabulous mother, but also has two careers to which she is devoted. She’s lucky to have a wonderful husband. They make a fantastic team, which is so important.
So, what did I do on Mother’s Day? Well, Eric took the car this morning to go on another ride. He was driving about ½ hour to a place where you go 7 miles uphill in order to have a great downhill ride. He’s done it a few times before, but usually he gets a ride up the hill and just rides his bike downhill. Today, there was no one to give him a ride, so he rode and mostly walked (because he said it was so steep he couldn’t ride) up the 7 miles in the sun and said he had a headache by the time he finished (it took him an hour-and-a-half).
I thought he was crazy to even attempt it, because I don’t think he has EVER walked 7 miles, let alone uphill in the sun, when he’s not in the best shape, but – hey – he took the challenge and he did it.
Unfortunately, it only takes about a half hour to go down the hill, so the fun part was over pretty fast. He was home a little after 1:00pm. I had just been doing stuff around the apartment – paying bills, cleaning my desk, ironing clothes for the week (yuck!) and watching TV.
I went food shopping in the afternoon and it was a slow, complicated process. Eric is trying to lower his cholesterol and also has to watch his sugar and salt (because he’s also watching his blood pressure). Do you know it’s almost impossible to watch your fat and salt at the same time? It seems if they cut the fat they add salt or sugar. If they cut the salt and sugar, they add fat. It’s VERY hard. I read every label, each ingredient, and managed to find healthy alternatives.
I walk over there and then Eric picks me up and carries the heavier bundles, so I don’t have to use my right arm (which still really hurts). After I put all the packages away, I went into the bedroom to watch more TV, but I fell asleep!
I woke up at 6:00pm and Eric was working out. After he was done, I made soup for myself and Eric made another chicken wrap with broccoli. I poured a pint container of soup to have for lunch tomorrow at work. I’ll also have a tiny cup of low-fat cottage cheese. I’m sorry to admit I’ve gained back a few pounds, so I really have to get back in the game.
I’m super-frustrated right now, because my left elbow is hurting so much, so yoga is out of the question. I don’t know how riding the bicycle would be (driving even hurts, so I’ve been trying to drive with only my right arm). I am so frustrated, because I know I need aerobic exercise in order to lose weight, and I just can’t seem to find something that’s not going to hurt! I know beauty is pain, but is exercise pain, too?
Since I couldn’t get a new DICK FRANCIS out of the library, or the bookstore, I will be taking a CLIVE BARKER book called THE THIEF OF ALWAYS. I hope it’s good. My boss will be back from his business trip, but I don’t anticipate being very busy. Maybe he’ll surprise me!