Do I have to?

I love my children.

I would give my life for them.

But, I don’t always want to share with them.

Sometimes it’s for completely selfish reasons, and other times it’s to create boundaries and acknowledge everything isn’t theirs.

My morning time is one of those moments.

It’s sacred.

I use this time to exercise for anxiety relief, recharge, pray, and overall inwardly reconnect alone before the whole house wakes for the day.

And when this time is interrupted, it can just about wreck my day.

Enter children.

“Mom, can I exercise with you?” Sprite asks.

“Honey, I get up really early to exercise. I don’t think its wise for you to wake at that hour and exercise with me.”

Cue downcast face.

Cue weighty mom guilt.

“But, mom, I really just want to spend some extra time with you.”

Cue additional mom guilt.

I started to reply with no again, then I stopped.

“I tell you what? You can wake up early once a week and exercise with me. Deal?”

Sprite and Tempest then began to argue over wanting their personal, unshared special morning with me.

“Ok, both of you will have their designated day. But, if I notice a negative impact on your behavior, then we wait a while before we try again.”

We struck a deal.

I’m not gonna lie, I was really reluctant.

I did NOT want to give up nor share my morning time.

But, let me tell you, it’s been awesome.

After a couple of weeks searching for an exercise regime each kiddo enjoyed, we finally hit a groove.

Instead of us just sharing an exercise space, we also shared an exercise routine.

But, who had to change and adjust the most?

Me.

Not only did I have to change my attitude, but I also had to adjust my exercise routine.

By that I mean, I had to let go.

Release some control and embrace change.

My oldest two enjoyed completely different routines.

Sprite loves yoga.

It’s a slower pace, strength building, and calming.

It teaches her to love her strong, hard-working body as we transition from hold to hold.

It’s empowering.

She really enjoyed the following video. It wasn’t too kid-ish for my almost tween.

Tempest loves a busy, fast-paced exercise program.

I found one where you exercise with your stuffed animal on Prime Video.

So, here I am at 6:00 a.m. throwing a Minnie Mouse plush up in the air and catching it, and completing dance moves that probably make me look like a complete idiot.

But, it incited lots of giggling and created a memory.

She really enjoyed the video Go with YoYo: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eUUW3BKg0vo

Although this venture began with a reluctant attitude, its actually been a really great connecting opportunity for myself and my two oldest.

Also, Tempest thinks yoga is dumb.