It was the strangest feeling to be leaving work that early in the morning and knowing that I had the rest of the day free. I almost felt like a kid after finishing up his last day of school for the year.
9:30: My first day of exercise. It was just supposed to be a long walk; a slow beginning just to get my body used to the idea.
It was me and Pandora radio playing some Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars, and Paul Simon. I was completely relaxed as I enjoyed the soft breeze giving some small relief from the humidity on this day. The grass seemed greener, the trees more beautiful; all seemed right with the world. I don't know the best way to describe how I felt.....I don't know, liberated, maybe?
As I reached the top of a small hill the song Iko Iko came on. It's such a catchy little tune and I got so into the song that I didn't realize until about half way through it that I was running. I don't know when I started to run but I figured, "hell, I might as well keep going."
It was just me and Iko Iko. I was so zoned out that I wasn't really aware of anything going on around me. Then the song ended, followed by silence and then a quick and not so subtle damage assessment report given to me by my body. My legs burned, my lungs wheezed, and it felt as if I had a small knife stuck in my rib cage. Holy Moly!!! I think I'll go back to walking now.
10:30 am: Made it home with my shirt soaked with sweat. I jumped into the shower and got out just as my Mom got there.
I was going to make my first day as stay at home dad the first day I would change my diet, but Mom wanted to take the kids and I out to lunch and, since I don't see Mom that much, I wasn't about to say no. Besides, there is no quicker way to get my kids to turn against me than to tell their sweet little Grandma no.
While at the restaurant I sat and stared at the portion sizes of our meals. Here is Toby's:
That's a lot of food, don't you think? And before that the four of us went through two bowls of chips and salsa.
I've often wondered what the portion sizes of other countries are. Are we as Americans really that bad about our eating habits? I guess it's obvious that the answer is yes given that we are one of, if not the, fattest countries in the world.
But did that stop me from eating everything on my plate? Embarrassingly, the answer is no. I walked out bloated and wishing I had a looser shirt on. I was truly miserable.
But the saddest part of the whole thing was that not an hour later I was eating a big bowl of coffee flavored ice cream with chocolate chips.
I thanked Mom for the good time; and it was a good time, I totally enjoyed myself. But I knew that this was precisely one of the bad habits our family picked up while Karla and I were both full time employees. My journey to creating a healthy eating family got off to a very rocky start. I was happy about the time I got to spend with Mom, but my bloated gut reminded me that my lack of discipline at the dinner table needed a lot of work. I was really disappointed with myself.
2:00 pm: One of the biggest problems of over eating is that it makes you very tired........I took a nap.
2:30 pm: It's simply amazing how much housework can get done when everyone in the house chips in. Between the three of us (kids and I) we got the dishes and laundry done, and got the floors swept and mopped. We picked up all the clutter, wiped down the kitchen counters and got supper rolling. The really good feeling I had earlier that morning had returned.
Granted, there is still a lot more that needs to be done......But, for my first day, I felt I got off to a good start.
6:00 pm: Swim lessons for Tera. You know, before this day the only real interaction I've had with Tera (and Toby, for that matter) was all sports related. I've never gone on a field trip with her, never helped her with her girl scout projects, never took her to any of her camps. What a freaking tragedy. I can't tell you how thankful I am to be getting the opportunity to do more things with my kids that isn't just sports related.
Before kids and sports, I used to go fishing all the time. Now I'm lucky if get to go once a year. I used to bike and hike too but, just like fishing, I never had the time to do it.
I do now, and I can't wait to spend more time having fun with the kids.
I would say it's been a great start to my new life. True, I haven't really got into the meat of my schedule yet. I've still got groceries, paying bills, so on and so forth. But any reservations I had about making this move has completely disappeared.
Well, almost any. The checkbook still scares me. But my happy ass isn't going to worry about that today. All is right with the world.
On a side note: Karla left for work at seven ---- got home at seven. Yup, we made the right decision.
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