Don’t Be A Martyr. Be A Bad Ass Mother.
Guest post series by Mollie Lipka
Rhapsody CrossFit member Mollie Lipka in Charleston, SC.
We are busier than ever. According to the US Department of Labor, seventy percent of mothers with children under 18 participate in the labor force, with over 75% employed full-time. Among all the balls we skillfully keep up in the air, the one that we often drop (and sometimes don’t even try to juggle to begin with) is related to our own fitness, health, and self-care. With our children, employers, family, friends, and countless others relying on us, why is this so?
The answer I most often hear is that there simply isn’t enough time in the day. Trust me, I get it. To illustrate to you just how much I get it, I’d like to tell you a little about myself. (I promise this is relevant and not just a fit of self-congratulation.) I am 37-years old and a single parent to two very active boys. While I have an incredible co-parenting system in place that I am very grateful for, it can still be a struggle.
Shuttling to and from activities like baseball, football, guitar, karate, and piano. Bouncing back and forth between 6th grade and 3rd grade homework. Making sure everyone is eating well, studying, practicing, reading enough, exhibiting good hygiene, and being a decent human. Without even getting into my professional life, that is a near vomit-inducing number of things to handle – and handle well. Add in a very deadline-driven, full-time career along with part-time consulting and you have what I refer to as ‘threat level midnight’.
I joke, but for many years, I subscribed to the notion that moms should be martyrs. That they should sacrifice anything and everything for their children and partner. I took no time for myself. I didn’t eat regular meals, put off doctor’s appointments, drank too much, and slept way more than I needed to. I struggled with anxiety and depression. I was impatient, always felt on edge, and couldn’t concentrate. I would run occasionally, but regular exercise wasn’t a thing I thought I had time for. This wasn’t just a case of me not making time for self-care. This was abuse.
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment that I had this realization, but I know that it came on the heels of a very challenging time for me in my career. If I wanted a better showing for myself in all aspects of my life, I had to make some changes. More importantly, they had to stick. I made the time to start exercising regularly. I worked to replace some of my not-so-great habits with more positive ones. And within the first month, I was well on my way to cultivating a healthier lifestyle.
Regular exercise and a nutritious diet should be a priority for everyone, but why CrossFit? And more specifically, why CrossFit for moms? I’ll be delving more into this topic over the next few months; talking about changes in attitude, confidence, patience, respect, time management, sex, body awareness, and much more. CrossFit is more than an exercise program, it is the catalyst to a complete lifestyle change. Here at Rhapsody, we’d love to help you take those first steps. Our coaches and our community are waiting for you – and so is your absolute best life.
