Well, it's easier said than done, especially with Ella's growing demands and needs.
But lately, we've making more of a conscious effort to get out for little breaks.
We try to get out for a date night at least once a month. We both have bible study groups that we attend at church on a weekly basis. We try to make time to go to the gym at least one a week.
And I'm taking a gymnastics class. Yes, gymnastics at 31 years old.
For those of you who knew me growing up, you know that gymnastics was a passion of mine for quite a few years. But it's been 15 years since I've performed any of those skills and figured it was probably not something I'd ever do again.
Until recently.
A little over a month ago we signed Ava up for a gymnastics class (thank you, "Casten for Cookies"!) and we found out that they have an adult tumbling and trampoline class for those who are 18 and older. I was immediately curious about this class and asked the woman working at the gymnastics club about it. She said it's a ton of fun and it's for adults of all ages and experience levels.
So I signed up. And I can't even begin to describe how much I love it. I don't know if it's because my body is remembering how to do the skills I once did, or if because it completely takes my focus away from SMA, ED, and all other stressors in life, or if because it reminds me of simpler times. But it's incredible. So incredible that I just signed up for another time, so I'll be doing it twice each week instead of once.
Here is a video taken this afternoon of me doing a round-off followed by three back-handsprings...I'm honestly blown away at what my body is allowing me to do after only a little over a month of taking this class.
Anyway, Michael and I are truly finding value in "me" and "us" time and we're going to be looking to incorporate more of it into our lives. We're going to start adding more dates to our "Care Calendar" if anyone is interested to help out with the kids if there are times when both Michael and I would like to get away for a little break :)
We have the Care Calendar set up so that if only Ava and Henry need to be cared for, it is open to anyone we know. However, if Ella is involved in the care, whomever watches her/them must be a "Personal Helper" (those who have been trained in and have experience with Ella's care).
Here is a link to Ella's Care Calendar: www.carecalendar.org
The calendar ID is 115107
The security code is 6639
*Personal Helpers, we will email you a reminder of your unique security code.
Thank you so much for your help! You have no idea how much we appreciate having a little time away :)
