Make It Burn

I think I'm one of those lucky people that views exercise as a part of life. At least a part of the life I am living right now. I can't really say what the future holds when my kids are older and the possibility of me working outside the home enters the picture.

Ever since I moved in with my then-boyfriend-now-husband about 11 years ago, I took on a new way of life. Thanks mostly to him. Although I truly believe I have it in me, and I always tried to optimize it, it wasn't until I absorbed part of his lifestyle that it really became a part of mine. And I'm thankful for that.

These days I try to get in one hour of exercise at least a few times a week. I'd like more but that's sometimes the most I can manage with my schedule. If I don't enjoy it often enough, I really crave it. Just like...ice cream. I'm sure my husband wishes I wrote something else in that comparison. Then again he knows me well enough to know not to stand in the way between me and my ice cream.

I especially like to play tennis, which I really like for the exercise and the social aspect. At the very least I make sure to do that once a week, and sometimes the rest is just gravy. Or yogurt, if you are talking about a healthy lifestyle.

Today was one of those days that I probably should have just written it off from the beginning. I thought about not going to the athletic club, but since I make reservations for the day care ahead of time, and get charged for last minute cancellations, I feel committed to make a go of it. So even though we were running late, as I knew we would, we went anyway.

Our lateness was a factor of a strange schedule that we are keeping this week and next. My oldest daughter is at a camp that starts at 10am, which is generally smack dab in the middle of my workouts. Who has time to drop off their kids at 10am anyway? I thought we'd go early to the club and squeeze it in. But the word "squeeze" and my schedule really don't work well together. In fact the word "change" and my schedule don't work together either, so I'm just going to have to suck it up for the next two weeks.

Nonetheless, we went to the club. And not more than 10 minutes into my workout do I see a familiar face from the child care center coming for me. That's never a good sign.

In my 5 years and 3 children at this athletic club this has only happened to me once. For that I am also blessed.

Turns out my son had something wrong with his eye that made it look sort of like pink eye. So to be safe, or in reality to keep all the other kids safe, they made me pick him up. A half hour later I realized it wasn't pink eye at all and he was perfectly fine.

So be it. Today would have to be an exercise around the house day.

What exercise, you ask? Well I’m glad you asked that question.

Here's how I see my life in calorie-burning terms.

Bending over to pick up sippy cups x 15 repetitions: 75 calories

Opening the drawer/door/cabinet/dishwasher/dryer door that my son has closed while I am doing something x 5 repetitions x 5 times per day: 50 calories

Climbing up and down the stairs to feed my son's love of playing with the safety gate at the very top of the stairs and then climbing down and starting all over x 5 repetitions: 85 calories

Sitting down to take a breather only to get back up again upon hearing cries of help/loud noises/too much quiet x 10 repetitions: 65 calories

Carrying around 24 pounds while making dinner: 100 calories

Total calories burned during this daily workout, excluding any optional piggy back rides, walks to the park or running after little people: 375 calories

Then again, the value of being able to exercise how I want while listening to my music and not the chaos that consumes every other minute of my life: priceless.