Happy Monday beautiful people. Before I launch into todays ramblings, I want to pause and recognize that today here in the states, it’s Memorial Day.
If you don’t know, it is a day set aside to remember the brave men and women who died fighting for the freedom of our country.
Amidst the BBQ’s, and store sales, there is a far deeper meaning and acknowledgement of this last day in May. No words could ever express how we as a Nation feel for those who fought, and gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy each day.
My dad served several years in the Vietnam war. He had Alzheimers and died from it a little over a year ago. To the end of his fading memory, he remembered he had served, he was proud of his service, and he still had pain in his heart for those he had served with in the war who didn’t make it back home.
As an American, I am grateful for those who have served, and continue to serve our great nation today.
Weekend adventures
I took off on a little road trip to see hubby this weekend. I always have fun exploring or doing things with him in different environments.
Saturday morning started off eating breakfast at this healthy little breakfast place we found before. They use like, real food to make your breakfast. As you can tell my eggs in my omelet are that creamy yellow. It also held all kinds of tasty veggies inside of it. Add to it hearty whole grain artisan toast and leafy greens with plenty of coffee, it was delicious
After food and some exploring we found ourselves at the pool later on. I was hanging off the side, lost in thought, watching the kids bounce around everywhere.
It should be mentioned, as a writer, my mind is constantly whirling, thinking, pondering. I observe the world around me and pay attention to people… the ways they interact, their conversations, body language etc. I can have a topic start forming in my head with just a casual observation of something.
For instance…..
I watched this little girl go skipping by in her little red bikini, blonde braids bouncing on her shoulders, goggles clutched in one hand completely enjoying the afternoon at the pool.
She was unconcerned over her body. She most likely wasn’t wondering what her stomach looked like or if she looked “fat”. She wasn’t wishing she had a bigger butt or wondering if people were looking at her judging her.
Nope. She was blissfully free. Sadly, in a few years, she may not be like that.
I began to share my thoughts with hubby who admittedly said he wasn’t sure he wanted in my head when I told him I had stuff whirling in there all the time…. haha
But he listened to my observations stating the obvious… well she hasn’t grown up yet and developed all those body insecurities. And this is true.
Family, society, friends, social media, even strangers are all big influencers of how we can lose our care free abandonment over time… meaning when we grow up.
When we grow up and determine we aren’t adequate or our bodies aren’t “good enough” or they could “be better” or worse yet, compare ourselves to others.
Sure, with good nutrition and exercise anyone could “be better”. But what happens that people can’t simply go enjoy life without being hung up on their imperfections, real or perceived?
We continued to talked about how beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And really, what IS a perfect body? That will vary person to person in what they believe to be attractive or desirable or whatever you wanna call it.
Yet the pursuit of these very things ( what someone believes to be desirable) will hinder people from going out and just enjoying life.
Really, no one cares if your thighs are super thin. No one is thinking you don’t fill out your swimsuit enough. No one is worried about the little extra pudge around your middle. Chances are, they have their own anyway.
Guys, no one is wondering where your washboard ab’s are or why your arms aren’t bulging in your t shirt.
Yet the times I hear women young and old lamenting over their “flaws” or imperfections ( how they view it) is staggering and they are held back by these beliefs.
Those ideas hinder you from just enjoying and savoring life.
What happens along the way that we can’t just go out and enjoy things with a child abandon instead of sitting on the sidelines, watching.
I’m in decent shape for a woman close to collecting her senior citizen discounts on morning breakfasts.
I wear a bikini because I can. Because I want to.
Because I hate having a white belly. hahaha
I don’t consider my body “perfect” in that unattainable sense. I’ve had babies. I have marks to prove it. However I also have some decent muscles now in my belly that I think, trump that. I have strong powerful legs, largely a side effect to my athletic endeavors. I don’t have “skinny” legs, but then I don’t want to have them either.
Oh. And I really don’t care if some random stranger may make a judgment on me or not.
But then again, as mentioned , I’m older. I’ve had time to get comfortable in my skin and be ok being me.
I won’t sit out watching from the distance while other people are having fun and doing stuff.
I will never sit on the side watching and not doing.
So as I sat, and watched these children so happily playing, still comfortable and untainted in their skin, I wondered why that has to be lost. Why so many will go through life burdened or feeling like they are inadequate or not enough and how if ever, that tide will turn.
Can I just say this? You are enough. Really. Your body is fine and no one is responsible for it but you.
If you need to lose some weight to feel better, do it for you. Do it for your health. Do it for the way it will make you feel.
I will always support good health and wellness ( mentally and physically)
Love yourself, learn to be a little more free, and enjoy the life you have to live without being hung up on if your body isn’t some particular “way” you think it should be.
Sweet heavens. I’ve been preaching. I shall now stop that…..
Weekend exercise…
let’s be real. When we aren’t on our “home turf” it is harder to get a workout in. We may feel like we are on a break and can step away from it.
I do it most days, so time off makes me feel more tight and achy than when I do workout. My muscles are used to frequent movement!
Thus started my Sunday morning pondering what I could get in to shake out legs and a body that had driven quite a bit the day before and was begging for something.
I decided to go on a quick, brisk explore walk, 30 minutes. It was already warm and humid so it was easy to start working up a sweat. After that I decided to finish it off by running three flights of stairs for 10 minutes.
Let’s just say, if you wanna test your cardio endurance, go ahead and get after some stairs for awhile!
Ok so all that was great and awesome. I wasn’t thinking that later in the day, I’d be driving for awhile again and that my legs would be sitting and still.
I stopped for gas and a coffee and got out trying to not initially hobble like an old woman till they stretched out haha
Speaking of that… I had been craving an iced coffee for miles. The place I stopped is like this mecca in the middle of nowhere. It has the usual gifts, and more food than you can imagine to tempt you to take back on the road. It boasts I’m sure, a hundred gas pumps. And it definitely boasts the cleanest bathrooms anywhere on the highway.
Oh… I did mention observing people. If I had time to just sit outside and watch….
It’s an adventure unto itself to stop there.
Since no Starbucks was around for miles, I was thankfully, able to improvise with what they had for sale and settle my iced coffee craving.
Anyway, it kinda fortified me for the remainder of the trip so I won’t complain.
A holiday weekend isn’t complete without food
We will be doing a Memorial meal like most of America so I thought I’d share a couple of recipes I plan to use.
Yay for new recipes!
I’ve kinda really been wanting to try this, so better to do so when I have other people to test it out on .
But let’s not forget dessert….
Mocha brownies with coffee cream cheese icing. How amazing does that sound??
Two new recipes on the menu for dinner so we’ll see how that goes.
Before I go…..
As we head into a new week they are promising record breaking temps topping us into the 100+ degree range.
Ah. I know we are getting into summer months I’m just not ready for that rough heat yet. It also means I need to be up and on the road to bike or run before that sun starts getting to high in the sky. It’s a complete sweat fest with heat and humidity combined with the work of what I’m doing.
But, it’s summer and summer in the south means blistering hot days. Ready or not, here it comes.
Your turn! Tell me something from your week. Anything new, different or fun? Or was it the same ( yet sometimes comfortable) familiar grind for you?
sassyfitnesschick 