Reaction Time, Family Time

I had a close call last Friday night while driving north on the freeway near my home. That heart-stopping moment left me near-tears and very reflective...

Despite the smog and heat, last Friday was a lovely Utah day. Oh, how I love Utah! :) I began my day by taking my oldest son to his sophomore orientation...I can't believe he's that old! I was concerned my son would be embarrassed to be seen with his mother at orientation. I asked him if he wanted me to leave, but he was unflappable—even when a few of his friends said "hi" to him! :) It warmed my heart to see my wonderful son happy to be seen with his mother...my level of happiness was (and is) indescribable! I just love that my boy wasn't embarrassed or annoyed by me (unlike I was at that age)—he made me feel like a million bucks! :)

After we found all of my son's classes and discussed our drop-off/pick-up routine, we decided to go school clothes shopping. I was thrilled that my I-love-playing-computer-games-and-basketball-all-summer! son was willing to spend an unspecified amount of time just shopping with me! Yay! I also loved that we talked endlessly while we shopped—it made this chatty Adrie very happy! By the way, it's no surprise that my son has excellent conversation skills! ;)

At one store, my son and I were having a lively discussion about which shoes to buy for him. We had been walking between three aisles with three boxes in our arms, trying to decide between five different pairs of shoes. We must have looked pretty funny debating back and forth to each other, walking around in circles! But it was a hard decision to make, you see! We finally decided he needed two pairs of athletic shoes: one pair for "A" day and one pair for "B" day.

I didn't realize until we saw a man staring/laughing at us that we must have been quite animated and verbal in our discussion. Yet I had my reasons for standing my ground (of which shoes would be better for my darling boy), and so did my son. We do love a good debate and aren't afraid to show it! :) At any rate, I'm glad we could provide some entertainment for the day! Ha ha. In the end, we were both satisfied with his choices.

We finished our shopping and headed to the drive-through to refresh ourselves with slushies. They were so yummy! We continued talking as we drove home and just enjoyed our time together. :) When we arrived home, we ate a late lunch and continued bonding.

After my son went back to his basement computer paradise, I readied myself for my next school shopping trip by creating lists for my daughter and youngest son. I suddenly became very tired and decided to take a quick nap. An hour and twenty minutes later (not so quick!), I finally awoke at the persistence of my baby boy. Man, I was bushed!

Before my other two children and I could go school shopping again, I drove my husband to pick up our car from being repaired/inspected for registration. We then headed back to one of the stores from earlier that day to return the suitcase I bought for Greg. As much as I liked the suitcase, Greg decided it was too small for his large shoes. :) My oldest son was pleased as punch that Greg chose the large grey suitcase he suggested for Greg from the very beginning! I simply thought the grey suitcase was too big...I was wrong. (I know, you're all thinking, "How could you have been wrong?!" Ha ha.) My youngest two children and I went to three other stores to complete our shopping lists. It was a long but productive night; we were all so happy to finally be done with school shopping! I would tell you more of our shopping adventures, but we don't have all night now do we?! Ha ha. Just know that we had a good time together. :)

As we drove home, I thought about how relieved I was to be free of our back-to-school week (Yippee!), for it has been a long week of preparing, shopping, school open-houses and scheduling!

When we were almost 10 minutes from home, I noticed that a vehicle in the lane way ahead of us swerved over and back into the lane. Because of the lighting in the sky (the sun had already set and the sky was almost dark), I couldn't see anything else in the lane but the massive SUV that had swerved. I thought maybe they wanted to switch lanes and didn't realize another car was there?

I never dreamed something would actually be in our lane in just a few moments. And I never would have guessed that it would be something truly harmful. I mean, how often is there an enormous and dangerous item in the middle of the road?? (Well, enormous considering what a vehicle can handle safely running over.) We sometimes see a shredded tire, or a piece of wood, or a plastic sack, or a tumbleweed, or an item of clothing blowing across the road, etc., but those things aren't life-threatening.

I can still see our scary moment clearly in my mind. I was driving with my hands at 10 o'clock and two o'clock, thinking about our day and all that we have coming up this week. All of a sudden, there was a large metal patio chair in the middle/right side of our lane! It was laying on its side with the round base of the chair on the left, and the back of the chair pointing to the right. I loudly sucked in my breath, slammed on my brakes, swerved my car sharply to the left and went right back into our lane after I passed the chair. I had zero time to react in any other way. Thankfully, the large truck in the left lane behind us also swerved as we swerved so we didn't crash into each other.

For many seconds after our adventure ended, I kept thinking how I couldn't believe I actually missed hitting the patio chair! I was stunned I didn't crash into another car! I was ecstatic that I didn't flip our car from over-correcting to avoid the chair!

I immediately wanted to start crying, but held it together because I didn't want my youngest son and daughter to be concerned or worried. After a few seconds, my son said how he was truly afraid he was going to die. Oh, I felt so badly that my wonderful boy was so scared! :'( Thus, I was relieved when he happily said, "Good reaction time, Mom!!" His words hung in the air.

As I thought about my son's sweet words, I was immediately drawn to the fact that yes, my reaction time was (in my mind) quite impressive. I literally saw the chair for the first time as I was almost on top of it and instantly slowed our car and swerved out of harm's way. I know I was being watched over and protected by Heaven last Friday night. Yet I also know the fact that I'm in good health/shape definitely had something to do with our safety. I feel strongly that because I've been exercising consistently for such a long time now (Well, a year+ seems long to me!), my body was able to perfectly react to what my mind told it to do. I believe that because of consistent exercising, my fight or flight response is way better than it could have been had I not been "in training" for the past year.

I shudder to think what would have happened if I had hit that large metal patio chair. Would our car have been totaled? Would we have been "totaled"? Would others have been injured? The chair would have hit our car on the front end, passenger side—right where my daughter was sitting, and my son was seated right behind her! I can't stand to think of them being hurt, or worse... Any of those previous options are not anything my family can deal with right now. I'm beyond grateful we were spared any sort of accident!

Each time I've had a close call in my life, I've been given a new mindset and this near-accident is no different. Life can literally be changed—or gone entirely—in a split second! I don't like to dwell on those sad thoughts, but they are the absolute truth! Thus, I've been renewed (again) in my life's efforts. I cling to all the lessons I've learned through my various medical trials that have mostly been resolved. I also perfectly remember the sad and difficult life lessons learned through losing my family's loved ones...they are never far from my thoughts.

Life is meant to be lived! Life is about having good and healthy relationships! Our families are the most important relationships we'll ever have! Making our families eternal should be our life's greatest goal! And once our families are eternal, we must daily do our best to keep the commandments and covenants we've made with the Lord. And, when we mess up (or commit sin), we must utilize the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repent. :)

When I created this typographic design two Sunday mornings ago, I thought it was just a happy, clever design for my Mia Maid class to enjoy. (And I would have been truly pleased with that result!) Little did I know that I would be creating it for my family and me! It's a sobering thought to internalize the fact that if it weren't for my fast reaction time while driving on the freeway (and thanks to the Heavenly help I received), I might not have my family time—as I know it—anymore.

I created "Family Time" with money green as the background color to illustrate that family is more important than money! :)

So today and every day, I challenge everyone—myself included:

Up your game when it comes to your family time! :) Spread your wealth (time) in the ways that really matter! Spend every bit of spare time you have with your loved ones! Better yet, repeatedly create that sacred bonding time with the people who make you you! Never let a day go by without expressing your love to your family! Tomorrow could be your last day, so fill today with love for your family!

In order to daily achieve my challenge, we must create a lasting and eternal relationship with our Heavenly Father (God) and our Savior, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Ghost. If we are truly trying our very best to daily listen to the Spirit and follow His promptings/inspiration/revelation (which is what Heavenly Father desires of/for us), we will be led, directed and helped in the ways we can best live our lives—so that we can create even more wonderful moments and memories with our families!

My family's accident-avoiding experience will stay with me for a long time. I won't take my happy family ending for granted—I'm making every moment count! :)

Exercise Prosperity

If you can believe it, I originally began writing this blog post in August, 2014! I decided to wait to publish it because I wanted to compare myself before and after I began working out continuously. Now, I feel more than ready to share my thoughts on the boundless importance of physical exercise! :)

I'm guessing many of you have heard the old saying, "It takes six weeks to get into shape, but only two weeks to get out of shape." If you haven't heard that information before, let me assure you that it's true. My amazing junior high gymnastics coach told our team those words when I was in the seventh grade and I've never forgotten them! I've exercised off and on throughout my entire life and this six week/two week rule has always proved correct. :)

In 2012, I began seriously working out to exercise videos with one of my Texas friends at our ward's (church) gym (a full-sized basketball court), three days per week, for six months straight. We missed a day once in a while, but it wasn't very often. I was in the best shape of my life since I'd been a gymnast!

After Greg and I found out we were moving from Texas, my official exercising times vanished. Sure, I was getting plenty of exercise because of packing our rental house and moving to Utah, but after we settled into our new/old house, I fell out of shape. Remember it takes only two weeks to get out of shape? Well, that's exactly what happened to me after our exhausting move. Don't get me wrong, I was still a very active mama, but I only officially exercised maybe once or twice per week and it wasn't consistent.

So, a year after our big move back to our beloved Utah, I was finally ready to rejoin the fit world and really commit myself to exercising consistently. Yet I absolutely did not let myself feel like a failure for becoming less-than-fit, I simply decided to change my lifestyle! :) I made an exercise plan and committed to it 100%!

I'm so happy to report that tomorrow begins my 48th week of exercising consistently! I'm humbled and excited to write that number. That information means I'm officially in shape! Yay me! (I'm not being prideful, just super happy!) By the way, as much as I would have really liked one, I didn't receive a certificate for working my hiney into good shape. Ha ha. Maybe I'll just have to create my own! ;)

Even though I have a gym membership that gives me unlimited use of their machines and weights, I'm not great about going there because I love exercise classes oodles more. Exercising with people totally motivates me.

(On a weird side note, last week, our local gym randomly moved locations to merge with another gym. This news was totally unexpected, so Greg and I will definitely be canceling our memberships and finding an alternative {like our basement!} because there's no way we're driving 15+ minutes just to get to the gym! I know that's a short commute for many people, but the gym used to be less than five minutes from our house—which is why we signed up for it in the first place.)

To get my hiney into shape, I chose to workout to varied exercise videos. I already owned the New York City Ballet Workout 1 & 2 DVDs; Pilates for Weight Loss DVD; and one yoga DVD, but I decided I needed a few more options. I have a bunch of additional exercise VHS videos, but our player broke in the move and we never bought another one.

When my sister-in-law asked what I wanted for Christmas (2013), I suggested Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I was thrilled to open 30 Day Shred on Christmas day because it's a great workout! A few months later, I purchased the entire P90X program (including the chin-up bar, minus the bands because I use my own weights), I was so excited! I got a fabulous deal and it has been worth e-v-e-r-y penny! (Sadly, the deal I got in 2014 isn't available anymore.) *I'll be writing about my P90X experience another day...I can't wait!

Because I've stayed true to my fitness goals over the past 10+ months, I can pretty much do any exercise or physical activity I desire—which feels amazing! I can't even begin to express the joy my heart feels when I decide to quickly run somewhere (while I'm running errands, or trying to escape the rain, or helping wrangle the neighbors' escaped dogs!) and do it without any huffing and puffing! I know my heart is stronger; my lungs have greater capacity (which also helps with singing in my ward's choir!); and my muscles have increased endurance! I just love that my body is so much more efficient than it used to be!

*Might I add, in regard to my physical shape, several people have said things to me like, "Oh, you're so lucky, you don't have to worry about your weight!" or, "I'm just not naturally skinny like you are." etc. While well-intentioned, those comments drive me crazy!

What those people don't realize is that even when I wasn't working out as consistently as I am now, I was still trying to stay active and watched what I ate. Even after I've been exercising consistently for all this time, I continue to watch what I eat. Yes, on occasion, I do eat whatever I want (like tonight's pizza and peanut M&M's) and it tastes awesome...until I get a stomach ache, then I totally regret that I ever overate!

Basically, I listen to my body. I try to eat healthily. I don't drink soda unless we're at a party or some special event. When I have treats one day, I limit them in the days to come. I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. I allow my body to get hungry, for I believe hunger is our bodies' natural way of communicating to us if we need food, or not! I think a lot people in the world have messed up their bodies by continuing to eat when they're not hungry, so their bodies are confused and they don't know when enough is enough. But enough about my food ideas. ;)

I simply wanted to clarify that I'm not just naturally skinny. And, hi! I wouldn't even define myself as skinny! I guess would define myself as not big. :) I treat my body as well as I possibly can, which includes exercising and eating healthily.

Sorry for my tangent, I just had to clarify those points...

My fit self was especially evident when I went to BYU Women's Conference April 30th–May 1st, 2015. As I walked all over campus, I couldn't help but reminisce about my experience in 2014. I couldn't believe the overwhelmingly positive difference in my 2015 body, compared to my 2014 body!

In 2014, I was tired at BYUWC. Walking all over campus for two days straight was very wearing on me and I nearly fell asleep in a couple of classes. Thus, I was beyond excited to realize that my 2015 body was literally ready to bound all over campus! Can I get a holla?! Every time I started walking to my next class, my body just wanted to get up and RUN! My body was unstoppable at BYU because of all my exercising and training during the previous 10 months.

By the by, my fluorescent yellow and white striped shirt is actually from the girls' section at Target!  I found it one day while shopping with my daughter, and I couldn't leave the store without it! :)

I'm guessing there are many people in my life who are tired of hearing me gush about how incredibly happy I am to be in good shape—and readers of my exercise blog posts are probably sick of my exclamation points and smiley faces—but I simply can't help it!! Being fit is such an amazing feeling that continually surprises me when I least expect it. I have great satisfaction in knowing my body is not only healthier, but my clothes fit better, too! Okay, I'm just going to say it, it feels awesome! :) Truly, looking good is one of the happiest side effects of exercising! The very best benefits of exercising are increased energy, strength and stamina!

All of that said, is my body perfectly sculpted like a fitness model? Oh, my goodness, no! I don't have "thigh gap,"never have, never will! My thick/loose stomach skin definitely shows that I've given birth three times, and my stomach muscles can occasionally be seen under my post-baby-10-years-ago skin (ha ha). Those things don't bother me in the slightest! And I would never exchange my three babies for a flat stomach—no way! I have cellulite throughout my body and I'm not ashamed to let it show. I'm not even looking to drop 10 pounds—although, if it happened, I wouldn't complain, either. :) My life's forever goal is to be healthy and fit!

I will continue following my church's Word of Wisdom, which, if followed, promises that I will run and not be weary, and walk and not faint! My simple desire is to be able to move my magnificent gift-of-a-body (for it was given to me by our Heavenly Father!) in all the ways I wish, and have the stamina needed to participate in any activity I want—for my entire life. The glorious thing is, I feel I have finally achieved my goals!

While I still haven't learned how to surf or snowboard (both are goals of mine!), my heart is so happy knowing I'm absolutely strong enough to accomplish my desires—were I given the opportunity! :)

In terms of my health and overall well-being, I feel extremely prosperous! And just like in the business world where nothing great is ever achieved by cheating, the only way our bodies will ever truly prosper is by being honest in all of our actions. There are no shortcuts in life that bring significant and lasting results—especially in exercising!

P.S. Another thing I love about being fit is that when I exercise or do other activities, I can see my skin (and fat) moving all at once because of my muscles! There's not some huge cellulite wave that continually ripples back and forth across my body—it's just a little one! It might seem silly to some, but seeing and feeling my individual muscles move with purpose is immensely gratifying!

P.P.S. Did I mention how much I love looking good and being healthy/fit for my husband? Well, providing those benefits for the love of my eternity is the greatest feeling!

Unsubscribed, Unliked

For several years, I've had many emails flood my inbox notifying me of companies' articles, books, television shows, videos, sales, new products/features, programs, etc.. A few weeks ago, I decided to enhance my Fakebook experience by liking a bunch of newspapers, news channels, documentary-style public television shows, magazines, groups, etc. I've had a lot of fun reading interesting, insightful, inspiring and intriguing articles galore, via my email inbox and Facebook newsfeed.

Although I greatly enjoyed my reading time, I slowly realized that anytime I got on Facebook, I had a constant desire to devour the next bit of fascinating information that scrolled into view. I felt the same way toward the uplifting emails I received. I continually had eight to ten windows open on my smarty phone, and my laptop was usually hovering around seven to eight. In my spare time, I felt the need to read all of those articles simply because they taught me oh-so-many things I didn't previously know—I greatly enjoyed learning from them!

One day last week, I realized my incessant reading had stopped being fun. I didn't like feeling guilty for not finishing the neglected half-read articles on my open windows. I repeatedly thought, "Oh, I can't close that window yet, I really want to finish that article!"—even though some windows had been open for many days! So, last week, I unliked a bunch of companies on Facebook. I also unsubscribed from the several commercial emails I receive each month.

At first, I wondered if by unsubscribing and unliking almost everything I might miss out on something important, or special, or life-changing. (I still like a few local businesses, friends' pages, and many of my church's pages.) But now I'm convinced I made a fabulous choice. I simply feel free!

Imagine this: a house cluttered with stuff in every nook and cranny. Now envision that my unsubscribing/unliking is the equivalent of a deep-cleaning and organizing session of that messy house—except it was much easier for me to do than all that. I just had to click the left button on my mouse and voila! A neat and tidy mind! Ha ha.

I really like the way my mind is now more open to be able to research or peruse whatever tickles my fancy each day—not someone's recommended must-read. I no longer feel pressured by my newsfeed or inbox to read/watch/research something possibly important. It doesn't mean I might not subscribe to or like something in the future (if it's really and truly important to me), it simply means I have more time. Yay!

Speaking of time, here's one of my all-time favorite quotes ever, given by Dallin H. Oaks in his General Conference talk, Focus and Priorities, April, 2001:

"Our priorities are most visible in how we use our time. Someone has said, 'Three things never come back—the spent arrow, the spoken word, and the lost opportunity.' We cannot recycle or save the time allotted to us each day. With time, we have only one opportunity for choice, and then it is gone forever."