My New Normal
My alarm (Alexa) goes off at 5:45 a.m. I tell Alexa to snooze (usually twice, although I’ve been awake for I-don’t-know-how-long [because my “real” alarm clock is tucked under a shelf on the bedside table where I can’t see it except in an “emergency” {I wonder what an alarm-clock-emergency might look like?} and so that the ambient light doesn’t disrupt my as-yet-insufficient and inefficient sleep rhythm).
I am out of bed by 6:05. The coffee is brewed (because I’ve finally come full-circle into the 21st century and have a timer program on my coffee pot) (the timer which I used to mess up all the time when I had those crazy variable work start times way-back-when-last-week and for the past 16 months).
I then feed the cats so they will leave me alone while I do my morning “business” in the bathroom. Pour my coffee. Close the windows that have been open all night (Lord, I love fall sleeping weather!) and go into the spare bedroom, unroll my yoga mat, and, YES, do yoga. Right now, it’s my own homemade routine, just good, long stretches, deep breathing, and every-other-day isometric muscle routines (crunches, fire-hydrants, downward dog, plank [holding currently at about 45 seconds, working towards anything better than the day before). My routine takes about 30 minutes, and already I cannot imagine any other way to start the day. It even allows for cat-bonding-time: they are on the mat before I am!
After my workout, I still have nearly an hour before I need to leave for work. I have time for small projects: cleaning up some dishes, rearranging furniture or reorganizing a cupboard, mopping the floor, cleaning the litter box, taking a Spanish lesson. I do this stuff however the mood strikes. My plan evolves while I am in my quiet place, on the floor with my cats. A to-do list might evolve, or maybe a quick check of my Facebook (always last on the list and only if I have extra time, which this week happened…never).
Meanwhile, I am also getting dressed (putting together outfits and wearing clothes that have been collecting dust for years!), putting on makeup (wow, I never used to take the time for that -- my eyes really POP! {behind my fashionable glasses [bought online]} with a bit of mascara and -- with summer being over, a little blush doesn’t hurt! I pack my own lunch and snacks (which I can eat at my DESK! and during my TWO breaks and ACTUAL 30-minute lunch break). I make my bed. I clean the kitchen. I have all kinds of time, and it’s a day-changer!
Work starts at 8:00 a.m., so I'm on my way by 7:42, 7:43 at the latest. Down 20 steps from my upper flat and out the door for the .6 mile walk to work (to the front of the building, (10 minutes exactly unless I stop to chat with a neighbor who's walking her dog), then down the entire length of the building (another .1 mile), then up 2.5 flights of stairs to my training room.
My work day begins with computer training for 2.5 hours (more on that in another blog, no doubt; can you stand the suspense?!) and then a 15-minute break, which takes me down 3 flights of stairs to the FULL CAFETERIA to see what’s on the breakfast and/or lunch menu, which I have not yet taken advantage of even though it’s all very healthy offerings (I work for a healthcare company now!). Then back up 3 flights of stairs, and back to work till lunch. Back down the stairs to the (very comfy and spacious) cafeteria, eat my homemade lunch, walk the TRACK for 15 minutes (which takes me right by the IN-HOUSE WORKOUT FACILITY), back up 3 flights of stairs and back to work till my afternoon break, down the stairs, around the track, up the stairs, back to work, down the stairs, and then the walk home .7 miles and up my own stairs, home at last.
And feeling fantastic! I don’t have to go to the gym because I’ve worked out pretty much all day (sort of) and I actually feel like doing other stuff, like more house cleaning or whatever (so many things on my want-to-do-now-that-I-feel-good list) and then I eat a light dinner and watch TV, no guilt. (I'm still having trouble staying awake after 8:00 p.m. [WTF!] but that's going to change, too, I hope!)
It’s a game changer. It’s a life changer. I did the math. In addition to my morning workout, I am walking 1.5 miles a day and doing the equivalent (per Google) of 13 flights of stairs a day. This weekend will include at least one good, long bike ride and maybe even a visit to the YMCA. I won’t have to worry about some stupid nonsense functional injury (like pulling a muscle while bending over to pick something up off the floor), because I am very nearly limber and getting limber-er.
In my small group of fellow trainees, I am the only non-smoker, and apparently the only person not currently taking prescription drugs for some sort of ailment. I’m the only one who packs a lunch and the only one who walks to work and the only one who takes the stairs. And I am the oldest person in the group. Go figure. But there are 699 (!) other people working in my building and I’m sure I’ll find a like-minded person in there somewhere. Otherwise, I’m quite content to work my own mission.
I will admit, it’s only week one, and I certainly hope to keep up with my new-found take-care-of-me attitude, but it’s the biggest personal change/challenge I’ve experienced/undertaken in a very, very long time, much needed and way, way overdue. Call it my early New Year’s Resolution. Call it the New Me.
Version number: v.infinity.I.plan.to.live.forever/the.bestme.me.
Attitude is everything, don’t you think?