By: Mikaela Hunt
In my world, it’s a moment of quiet when there’s no work to be done and I have a few minutes to ponder the possibilities of life, which rarely happens! As a mom of two young kids with no family in town as “support staff” during busy seasons, moments, or for life in general, it’s hard to take a break. Between Taekwondo classes, hockey lessons, Cub Scouts, swim lessons and more, those moments to pause and do something that I want to do have to be stolen. But over the last couple of years, I’ve been realizing that we must joyfully claim those moments for our own physical and mental health. We need to steal them every chance we get! It doesn’t have to be every day, but we need to seek out moments to move and be mindful during the week.
As a small business owner and co-host of The Momcast (which you can find on iTunes), life is busier than it ever was when I worked in TV news. In the last year, that means my health has taken a back seat on the priority list. But at the start of 2017 I made a pledge to change that. I won’t call it a resolution. I’ll call it a goal. My goal is to take breaks that allow me to move and be mindful.
For me, that means starting to swim at a local Y to offset some of the mild osteoarthritis that I have in one knee—way too early. Moving in the water again, feeling like a kid, makes it feel like less of a workout and more of a therapeutic moment. Taking a break. I’ve also started taking some Dance Fusion classes where I know everyone’s fitness level is at a different level, so I can bring the intensity that works for my body and a joy to the movement that hasn’t always been there before when I “workout.” It also means finding activities with my family that get me moving, out into fresh air even on cold Ohio days, like snow tubing. That was a 10,000 plus step day on my Fitbit and we laughed all the way through it!
The MommyMile is another option I’m fitting into this new mindset of taking a break to be mindful and to move more. It happens at Polaris Fashion Place on May 7th and I would love to do the 5K if my knee is up to it, but there’s also a 1 Mile option that works too—all to get moving for the morning and celebrate being a Mom! It also benefits the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio, and that’s another reason I love being involved. I’m moving AND mindful of what my race fee goes towards.
Champagne, roses, a jog with hundreds of other moms and some swag don’t make up my normal day. But they will on May 7th. Those stolen moments, moments of joy that I can fully embrace and be healthy within, are perfect for this season of life! Register for MommyMile here.