Why I Work Out

Some people work out to lose weight or get healthy, I work out for stress relief, to meet new people, and because it generally makes me feel good. I guess you could say it brings me joy.

A few weeks ago, my bootcamp instructor asked if I had lost weight. Nope, don't think so (though I rarely step on a scale). Then she asked if I had at least lost inches. At the time I didn't feel like my close fit any looser (I don't track that stuff either), so no again. However in the last week or so I have noticed that I look a bit trimmer and my clothes do feel looser (maybe it's psychological?).

Anyway if I don't work out at least three times a week I get cranky. It's a big reason I exercised so religiously when I was pregnant with Jack. It made me a lot more mellow (aka less hormonal) and it made me feel much better in general. These days I tend to be in a better mood if I get my endorphins pumping while also getting some precious "me" time. Plus Jack loves going to his "class" at the Y.

I don't always love working out. In fact I am the person in class who sighs a lot and rolls my eyes (in a joking fashion). This prompts my instructor to give me a hard time which in turn makes me work harder. It's all in good fun. Just don't ask me to get on a treadmill!

Where's the Joy?

I have come to the conclusion that stating out loud (or at least on the internet) that I intend to be intentional about choosing to have joy in my life may not have been a wise thing to do.

Since writing my blog post, I have had an intense chest cold that has lasted for more a week, Daniel and I have yet to decide on a house to buy (tick tock, tick tock) and Daniel (unexpectedly) had to start working 6 days a week. It's kind of hard to intentionally choose joy when I am sick, Daniel is gone 70+ hours each week and we have no idea where we will live in a month.

I am hoping that I will feel better soon. As for Daniel's work schedule, it is out of our control and we are going to have to make a decision about where to live. Hopefully in the midst of this harder-than-expected season of my life, I can still muster the ability to choose joy.

Jack sure has no problem being joyful.

Word for the Year: Joy

I wish I could say I was more deliberate in my efforts to live life to its fullest in 2013, but I fear that I dropped the ball with this goal. I found it tremendously difficult to be intentional when half of the year was spent living out of a suitcase. I hope that 2014, and future years, will find me living my life with more purpose.

In keeping with my tradition of writing down a word to represent the coming year, I have found myself gravitating toward the word "joy."

JOY is the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.

Watching Jack have such pure, unadulterated joy over simple things like jumping in puddles; learning new words; or running as fast as his little legs will carry him; make me ache for more sheer joy in my own life.

I want to delight in my life; to feel satisfied and elated because it is a good life. I want to deliberately share this pleasure with people that I interact with on a daily basis. I want more than just muddling through when life gets hard. In 2014, whether it is embracing the mundane or celebrating holidays and life events with those I cherish, I want to focus on the joy of being alive.

May 2014 be a joyous year!

 

Words from previous years:
 Fortitude {2010} ~ Adaptation {2011} ~ Patience {2012} ~ Deliberate {2013}

bittersweet.

Yesterday around lunch time, I received a text message that I had been waiting for. One of my closest friends from high school had finally had her baby {she was four days overdue}. I was in Baby's R Us and very ecstatic to learn the news. I can't wait to go meet her baby boy in person.

The rest of the day Daniel and I went about running errands in Chattanooga and then hanging out at home.

After a long afternoon nap, I checked into Facebook and learned that a friend from college was facing the passing of her own baby boy. Five month old Ian has been at Vanderbilt fighting for his life since his birth. Sadly, Ian went to be with the angels last night. The finality of the news is heartbreaking.

I have no words. 

I pray that God will give comfort and strength to Ashley and Bob and their families during this incredibly difficult time.

Capacity for Joy

Daniel and I have been married for a little over 7 years and it has been a wonderful 7 years. We have a great marriage. Not perfect, but pretty darn good. In 7 years, it is easy to fall into the routines of life and what is normal.

When we got Sophie, we weren't really sure what to expect. The night before she came to us, we even doubted the whole idea of getting a dog. Were we ready for this? It was so sudden, and we didn't *feel* excited or ready. We didn't even get to meet to meet her beforehand - we had only seen a photo and had a guarantee that if it didn't work out, we could give her back.

So here we are 8 months later and we are amazed at how much she has become a part of our lives. Before we had her, we thought we were pretty happy (and we were). But now, we have experienced a new type of joy. One we didn't even know existed. We were perfectly content but now we can't imagine our lives without her.

As I write this, she is cuddled up next to me and it makes me forget that I have to get up and feed her or make time to walk her. Or clean up after her. Or deal with her idiosyncrasies.

I was recently talking with a friend about heaven and how much joy we will experience there - joy beyond anything we can imagine here on earth. I shared with her how we felt about Sophie. How before we had her, we were happy. But having her has opened this whole new dimension of joy for us. That's how I think heaven will be - capacity for joy beyond anything we can comprehend right now.