Today: October goals.

I showed some serious restraint in not naming this post Goaltoberfest.  This month, I am committing to some much needed life adjusting.  With fall and the back to school rush being one of my busiest times at work, I’ve found myself feeling spread more thin than usual.

I’ve caught myself cutting corners (I ate a donut for breakfast the other day and barely lived to tell that sorry tale) and I’m only slightly exaggerating about the effects of gluten on my fragile digestive system.  I could eat bread by the loaf (and sometimes did) while pregnant.  These days?  No.  I’ve been making convenient choices rather than good choices.

There are days lately when I feel particularly sluggish and slow, both physically and mentally (not a shocker: the donut day was one of these days).  Case in point: Last week, I drove all the way to daycare before realizing that I had left Grace’s bag (and bottles and food and extra onesies and a love note and whatnot) at home.  I don’t forget anything. Like, anything.  (I know what you did last summer and in the summer of 1988.) The security guard saw me whip a safe-ish u-turn and jokingly asked if I had forgotten the baby.  I almost cried because Oh, my Lord! What if I had forgotten the baby?  I’m still recovering from that panic.

Even my dreams are telling me I need more sleep (just in case the dark circles under my eyes weren’t sending the message loud and clear). In the wee hours of Saturday morning, I dreamt that Nick and I decided we should skip Grace’s swimming class and sleep in a bit.  When my alarm went off, I silenced it.  When Nick’s alarm went off, he wondered why everyone else was still in bed and not running around the condo yelling “Swimmy time!”  Fortunately, getting ready for parent and baby swim class requires little more than a diaper change for Grace and shimmying into a bathing suit for me.  No hairdos.  No makeup.  No six hundred outfit changes.

Oh, and that pesky back and hip pain I was feeling after each run?  Apparently that’s not normal.  So instead of enjoying three blissful runs each week, I’m hauling my sorry ass bum to PT until that’s resolved.

Are you regretting attending my pity party?  I wouldn’t blame you.  And at the same time, I’m making a concerted effort to not blame myself.  With so much pressure to have and do it all, it’s easy to get wrapped up in a quest for that ever-elusive balance.  Being a wife and a mother and a friend and a career lady with cool outfits is both incredibly fulfilling and incredibly challenging.  Lately I’m seeing (more than ever) how important it is to take care of myself in order to take the best care of everyone else.  I feel like I’ve said that before.  Many times.

Simply put, my big goal for October (and like, for life… because LBS, important things usually take longer than 31 days) is to get out of my own way.  When I think about what would make my days more blissful and less stressful, it’s clear that I am often my own worst enemy.

• If I want more peaceful mornings, I need to change my evening habits.
• If I want to spend more quality time with my family, I need to make plans and stick to them.
• If I want to make better food choices, I need to have better food ready and available.
• If I want to reap the benefits of physical activity, I need to commit to what I can do and stop bemoaning what I can’t do.
• If I want more space in my life, I need to make the room.

Don’t things seem so simple when you free them from the chaos of your busy brain and write them down?  Man.  After thinking about what I want and how to get it, the practical, smaller steps came easily.

• I will pack our bags (and meals) the night before.
• I will not wait until I have a smidge of gas in the car to fill my tank.
• I will plan several dinners at home with Nick each week, along with a few weekend plans to look forward to.  Oh, and we will dance every day (we forgot to do this for a little bit and my moves have seriously suffered).
• I will not let the laundry back up to the point of becoming an international underwear crisis.
• I will embrace the fall weather and take more frequent walks with my favorite little lady and our favorite little Frenchie.
• I will practice more yoga (even if it’s for 10 minutes between meetings in a dress and control top pantyhose).
• I will carve out time each day for religious practices that are important to me and central to my wellbeing: prayer, reflection and gratitude.
• I will ask for help when I need it.

You may have been expecting something more along the lines of “Do 3 workouts a week.” Or “Go leaf peeping.” (I love the expression leaf peeping. Love it.  It sounds both creepy and enchanting.  Also: I accidentally typed “leaf peeing” and laughed so hard that I almost left it.  Almost.)  Or maybe you saw me walking into work yesterday with my fly unzipped and thought, “This lady needs to get her act together before she even thinks about working out or leaf peeping.”

Either way, there you have it.  My grand October life plan.  Octoberlifeplanfest!

Also On Tap for Today:

• Read this: The Importance of Cooking at Home via The Kitchn
• Pretending it’s not raining and that my hair doesn’t look like a family of poodles
• A few October challenges: #ffwellness, Becki’s plank challenge, and (it’s not too late) the Tone it Up Frisky Fall challenge

What grand plans are you working on?