Ruthi is Becoming My Jillian

OK, so Ruthi definitely isn't a "bully," but she is quickly becoming "my Jillian!"

She was in my room this morning before 7:30, encouraging me to get out of bed so we "can go exercise!"

I started a new routine this week. I'm trying (again) to get back into exercising and eating better. I am determined, once and for all, to get myself healthy, and to teach my daughter good habits so she won't be in the same shoes I'm in when she gets my age. I want this to be a natural lifestyle for her.

When school starts back in a couple of weeks, she will have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. And this year, those are the only two days I'm teaching. So I decided to go ahead and start now to try to get in the habit of exercising on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Sure, we can do it on other days if time permits, but those three days are the minimum.

Ruthi loves to ride her bike. And for the first time last weekend, I rode mine with her. Her Daddy has done it that way, but I still wasn't sure I could watch her well enough while I was riding. That's not the case! We rode five miles on Sunday and she did fantastic! She is an ol' pro now! Granted, I am riding a good bit slower than I would be if she wasn't riding...BUT, it got me back on my bike, and now I have no excuse not to ride! And if we do that more often, she'll be riding faster and for longer distances in no time!

I was really wanting to get back into running, but find it difficult to be able to get out there. I won't go run by myself (I just don't feel very safe), so that means either Chip or CJ must be home to watch Ruthi while the other goes to run with me. Well, with our schedules, that is rare, so I just wasn't running.

However, I now no longer have an excuse not to run either! Now, Ruthi rides her bike while I run! We go to the park down the road from us, which is my favorite place to run. If we go early, it's not crowded. Well, unless it is Saturday morning...there were quite a few people out there at 8:30 this morning - I think we need to go earlier on Saturdays!

Ruthi does great staying on the right, and I no longer have to worry about her running anyone over or her stopping short in front of someone. She rides a little bit ahead of me then turns around and comes back to me before she gets out of my sight. Even if I only do one lap (which is somewhere between a mile and a mile and a half...still can't get that confirmed for sure), she rides more than that because of the going back and forth.

I'm building myself back up, so I can't run the entire thing without stopping just yet, but I find that I'm pushing myself a teeny bit harder to try to keep up with Ruthi! It really works out for both of us...she's doing what she loves, and I'm doing what I need to do...in hopes of loving it again soon!

We went Tuesday morning, and I had no trouble getting up and going. Thursday morning came around, and honestly, had she not "made" me get up out of bed, I probably wouldn't have gone. And this morning...ugh....I did NOT want to get out of bed. But I wasn't going to let my little girl (or myself) down. And I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed and went. I'm glad I did. And I'm thankful for my little encourager.

One day, in the not so distant future, my wonderful daughter is going to be able to say she had a big part in getting her mommy healthy!

All it took was me telling her my plan for this schedule, and she is making sure I stick to it! She marks days off her calendar everyday, so there's no fooling her about what day it is either!

Hmmm....maybe I should come up with a blogging schedule and tell her so she can keep me on track for that too! :)