One of my favorite blogs, Marc & Angel Hack Life, had a post today about 8 Ways You’re Wasting Your Life. What a great post.

And while none of those reasons are actually identical to what I just experienced or went through on Monday… I definitely think that fighting with your spouse about a pink tutu should be #9 on the list… 9 Ways You’re Wasting Your Life.

The Expert called me this morning. Today was my morning to workout, so I was up, had already swam and gone to spin class, and was sitting at my desk at work when he called at 8…. Oh no. He sounded frazzled, and I could hear the Girl Swim Bike Kid screaming in the background.

“Which one of these ballet dresses can she have?” he asked me.

“What?” I asked.

“There are three ballet dresses – which one can she have?”

He might as well have been speaking Chinese to me.  I know I am in the possession of three, frilly pink ballet leotards for Stella’s ballet class.  I also know that only one actually fits her, and that two are way too small… and someone else might be taking them for their daughter–but that is really not set in stone–if someone doesn’t take them, I might be returning them to Amazon. I also knew that Stella does not need to be playing in any of the dresses because she will destroy anything she wears–and the one dress she wears whichever one that is–I cannot tell over the phone because two of them are identical but for the sizing needs to last all year in ballet class….

Holy. Crap.

So, the Expert was aggravated that I didn’t have a short answer for him.  I couldn’t say, “She can’t have any of them,” because I couldn’t get past the screams in the background.  And the Expert was so confused and annoyed that he gave up and hung up on me.

When I called him back, he was like, “Why are you giving me the run around?”

I wasn’t.I just had no idea what he wanted to know, or what the deal was, and he didn’t like the answer I gave. As you can see —there is no short answer to the ballet dress caper.  After another ridiculous amount of time, I think we squared away everything, and eased in to talking nicely again.

#9 on the list should be: Fighting with your Spouse about a Pink Tutuwhat a stupid waste of time. [Actually, much like reading this post about me fighting with the Expert about a tutu. On second thought, log off now…. I’m wasting your time.]

Okay, so I do have a point.  And my point is about focus.

I must admit that Sunday night, after the big workout with Yoda, things went a little willy-nilly for me.

The Expert was out of town, and I was home alone with the kids.  They were in the bed, and somehow between the time I put them to bed… and the time I went to bed… I managed to eat everything in the house. Which is weird – because I have been pretty good about my eating… but I ate so much stinking food. Shamefully. Almost as much as my post-70.3 piggy fest.

Needless to say, Monday morning… I was sick.  Sick, sick and more sick.  And it ruined my entire day.  I got an instant headcold/stomach issue from all the crap I ate, and I worked from home for the day because I was a swollen, puffy, sniffling mess.  A total self-destructive hot mess.

I whined and whined to the Expert when he came home.  Why do I do this to myself? I feel terrible! I don’t even want to workout now. I am gross! UGHHHHH.

The Expert told me to FOCUS.  He said, the bad day was just one day.   To get a grip. He was so right. Which caused me to remember what Coach Monster always says… that you have keep the good habits going, so the bad ones don’t have a chance to dig their claws in… Also, to stay neutral with our emotions —so we don’t let ourselves fly up with glee and crash down with sadness.

So, while the pink tutu is not on the list, #7 on the post does hit home:

Stop wasting your life… by “Berating yourself for not being perfect. – Don’t be too hard on yourself.  There are plenty of people willing to do that for you.  Do your best and surrender the rest.  Tell yourself, ‘I am doing the best I can with what I have in this moment.  And that is all I can expect of anyone, including me.’  Love yourself and be proud of everything that you do, even your mistakes.  Because even mistakes mean you’re trying.”

This goes back to the art of taking care of ourselves.  It’s true that I am still always one bad day away from a large pizza and a twelve pack of beer… but I am learning to move on much more quickly after I eat the entire pizza… and dust off, and get on with not wasting my life regretting crap that I have done in the past, or shoved in my gullet… Usually a bad day like that would have set me back weeks. Seriously. Weeks.

“Hello, Mom… Yes, can you please stop freaking out about the food you ate?”

Stop wasting time fighting about things that don’t matter (pink tutus) and stop wasting time beating yourself up for things you can’t change (the crap you ate). Move on, “do your best and forget the rest,” says Tony Horton.  (And I believe him because he’s a very fit man.)

I have a tall order coming up in June… I must stay focused, or one thing is for sure…the 140.6 Coeur d’Alene bull will buck me right off… No playing. No excuses. Rise up and bring it. Right? Right.

Happy Hump Day!

17 Responses

  1. Great post. Never thought of it that way…bad days will always happen and depress you. The trick is to get back up faster than the last time.

    Good luck with 140.6. I’ll be cheering for you (from Savannah).

  2. The pink tutu fight made me laugh. Because we have had several similar incidents. I’ll be traveling and I will get a panicked call from my husband about outfit drama. That one conversation caused me to question my ability as a mother. Silly we are sometimes.

  3. Thanks, Matthew…. I think you should cheer me on from the race course…. while you race. Registration still open. Do it. Do it 🙂

  4. Yes, there will be many tests along that 140.6 journey. Things you can’t control that will make you miss a workout. Family illness, power outages, bad weather, your own exhaustion. Be ready to adjust and make adaptations to the plan! One day or even three days does not ruin anything. Just Keep moving forward!!!

  5. I think the weather changing has something to do with our eating habits. Our bodies are designed to store up fat for the winter months. Even though I haven’t been working out more or less it seems like i feel hungry all the stinking time. I’ve been tracking what I eat to get a handle on it again. Monday I totally blew it out the window. Tuesday I got up and said well now this means 4 miles on the stupid eliptical (plantar fascitis issues) and at least 45 minutes on the bike. Did I feel better last night, 100%. Did I stop at the store & load up on fruits & veggies so the other crap doesn’t grab my attention first, why yes I did. We beat ourselves up terribly when we make a mistake but how often do we congratulate ourselves when we make good choices? If I spoke to anyone else like I speak to myself it wouldn’t be long before I was without friends.

  6. Great post. I’m not a mom, but I totally enjoyed and understood your thought process about the three tutus – makes perfect sense to me! Loved the bottom line message too! Great Blog!

  7. Man, I need to come back and read this when I beat myself up! I always try to tell myself that one action doesn’t have to set me back so far and that one bad choice can just be that. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out in my head.

  8. Last week, I gave my notice at the job that turned everything into poopsicles and I felt amazing ever since.

    Granted, there’s going to be two weeks of hell getting everything transitioned, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel…and it feels good.

    I’ll be cheering you on your journey to 140.6! 🙂

  9. Okay-as I was reading this post I was shoveling caramel corn in my mouth while having a “disagreement” about our garage that we are currently building. Unfortunately, I kept eating ALL night! 🙁 But I did think a lot about how stupid our agrgument was, thank you! You woke me up and reminded me to keep it real!

  10. Wow, where was this post on Sunday when I cried during a run? Yep, I just broke down and cried right in the middle of the trail I was on with my husband. Forever more my new running mantra is “do your best and surrender the rest!” Love it! And thank you for a great post.

  11. I started to consider it, and then I googled Coeur d’Alene. Instead of it being in France like it sounds, it’s in Idaho, or Iowa, I can’t remember.

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