ENERGY!

The word just needs an exclamation point at the end of it.

Month 1 is all about ENERGY! It often feels like energy is in short supply in my life these days. It has been close to two years since I had an uninterrupted night's sleep. My body grew another human being and then pushed that sucker out and has never felt quite the same. The busier I've grown, the less well I've eaten and the less time I have to exercise (side note: I feel fortunate to have returned to my pre-pregnancy weight, but for me not eating well has seldom been about gaining weight and much more about not feeling great). I can see areas of my life that feel like they suck energy rather than infusing it.

To refer back to my list of life lessons/commandments, don't let perfect be the enemy of good, I offer my first task on the energy front:
**Instead of ...cleaning up...organizing...doing data entry...watching tv...doing laundry, LIE DOWN and try to nap.**
I don't nap well, but I realize there is value in just lying down and closing one's eyes. It might lead to sleep and it might not, but at the very least you are taking a load off. It is very hard for me to be home and just do nothing when I can look around at the mess and know it needs to be cleaned up. I've always been that person that does the housework, groceries, laundry first thing on Saturday so the rest of the weekend can be enjoyed. I just am a work first, play second person. Or, I was. Now I'm a rest, relax first, work second person. The toilet won't clean itself, but I'd hazard a guess that no one else in this house cares how often it gets cleaned so I won't either.

Second task:
**Always have a good book to read**
Stories tend to invigorate me and getting lost in a good book even if just for 15 minutes is a great pick me up.

Third:
**Go to bed when you are tired, no matter what time it is**
Ten o'clock is my standard bedtime. However, when one's day occasionally begins before 5am, staying up until 10 can be torturous. I feel guilty going to bed earlier and as a result will fall asleep on the couch until roused by some sound and then haul myself off to bed, praying that brushing my teeth won't wake me up so much my body thinks it has just had a fantastic nap and be up for many, many hours.

Fourth
**Get out of the house every day**
This one came about largely in response to the extremely snowy winter we have experienced. Five snow days in Jan/early Feb left me inside all day with a toddler. To those of you without children, this is akin to a form of surreal torture. I am someone who likes to be out and about and so does the child. Together, inside for 14 waking hours is too, too much. Being inside leaves me feeling drained - see above about constantly looking at the mess and feeling as though I need to pick up. Getting out, means fresh air, seeing people, enjoying nature etc.

Fifth:
**On the subject of eating:
Return to a low sugar diet
Return to eating minimal processed foods
Take time to get something healthy - walk all the way past the pantry to the refrigerator
Drink enough water and start the day with a glass of warm water**
For many years I did all those things easily. Then, I got married and the husband brought different kinds of food into the house - sugary cereals, granola bars, ice cream - things I rarely had were around more often and I got into the habit of eating them and other things like yogurt that was high in sugar too, rather than the plain that I ate for years. I have terrible resistance, it turns out, to eating something that is just left in front of me. So I consumed that stuff. I know I don't feel as good as when I was eating actual food that didn't have white flour and added sugar. Don't get me wrong a cookie now and again is totally a girl's friend. But not every day. I also used to drink plenty of water. For almost a decade I took a drug for a heart condition that was a diuretic, so I was used to consuming at least 64 ounces and often more. I was never without my Nalgene. Then, I had a kid and often I honestly can't remember where I left the damn thing, let alone to actually drink from it. I admit that I have awakened in the middle of the night feeling nauseous because I am dehydrated.

So I've resolved to drink a glass of warm water in the morning (gets your system going, to help flush toxins out) (set out on the counter the night before so I remember) and to consume adequate water each day. I've also bought plain yogurt and am working to cut back on processed sugary foods. One thing that helps me is to eat oatmeal in the morning. When I start the day off low sugar, I don't crave it as much - so oatmeal, with a heaping tablespoon of flax seed, blueberries, walnuts and cinnamon is my breakfast of choice. I'm also getting more involved in the grocery shopping which helps me to know what food is around. I am going to exercise my minimal willpower to not just stop at the ritz cracker box and eat half a roll at 5pm in the hopes of making it to dinner at 7:30. There are fruits and vegetables that would better fit the bill and I know that.

**On the topic of exercise:
Walk instead of drive
Go to the gym when I can
Go to a yoga class every week
Fit in a few days a week of home yoga practice**
This is a tough one in the winter months. Now that weather is improving I'm hoping the Shorty and I can get out for walks on Mondays and Fridays and also walk to places like the library and post office rather than driving. The gym is a sad thing for me. I was a 6 day a week exerciser in my prior life. Now I have one week day I can go and realistically 1 day on the weekend. Like I am with cleaning, I like to get up and go in the morning, but now I hang with the Shorty in the morning when I'd rather be at the gym. I don't know that that will change anytime soon, if ever, so I need to work around it. That means going to the gym later in the day on the weekend - my conscience also likes to conserve water and I think it wasteful to shower twice in a day if I can avoid it - I know, I know, shut up conscience. Someday I hope to be able to go to the gym before work in the morning and have the hubs deal with drop off, but we're not there yet. I've found a yoga class to go to. It is a more restorative Iyengar class than I've ever done, but last Thursday I slept better than I have in a long, long time so I'll stick to it. Sunday mornings are the one morning a week I don't have to get up with the Shorty and that is a day I know I can do some yoga before opening the bedroom door and joining the family. So far I've been good about doing it.

Lastly:
**Act like I have more energy**
Fatigue makes me freaking moody. It is no secret. Too little sleep can send me to a dark place pretty fast. From Rubin's book I learned that we have something like 40% ability to control our way of being, it isn't just what we're born with. So, I'm trying to act like I have more energy and smile when I feel tired, be cheerful when I feel exhausted.

There you have it, my plan for my energy month. I'll try to post periodically to chart my progress.