Training
“You’re going riding again? You spend more time on your bike than you do with me!” my son said and slammed the door.
He’s right.
I began training in January for an Olympic distance triathlon (swim, bike, run) and have been spending 2-3 hours on Saturday on my bike. I leave before the kids get up and return late morning. It’s gonna get worse before it gets better.
The thing is…I don’t feel guilty. I don’t want to do anything else. I do tight time-constrained training during the week, fitting a swim in before I drop them at school, or running immediately after I have dinner with them. My training is dictated by their schedules or lack thereof. If they’re up at 2:00 am, I’m still rising at 5:30 am to run. Like most of us, I give my children my mind, body, left arm and two thirds of my brain all week and now they want Saturday too? Mmmm, I don’t think so.
Some would call me mean, others just selfish. But why is it, as a mother, I am expected to give all of myself till there is nothing left, even for me? Why is it that when I take care of myself, soothe myself, I am suddenly not fit to parent?
Well ya’ know what? Too bad, kid. Training keeps me sane, and a sane mother is a good mother. I love you, I really, really, do. But I realize I love you that much more after a 2-hour bike ride, because I love myself that much more.
So, I’ll see ya’ around 11:00 on Saturday. Be nice to Dad, okay?
posted by Kim T. Hamer @ 8:42 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
It is so true that we mothers are expected to give and give to our children and other children. I get so put off by the mothers of grown children who say things like, "I did xxx for my kids, so let these moms do xxx for their kids." XXX would include things like teach Sunday School, babysit during MOPS meetings or church events, even lead Girl Scout troops. They conveniently forget that there were 30+ stay-at-home moms around when their kids were little, and they all shared the work. Nowadays, three or four SAHMs are stretching themselves to a breaking point trying to give their children similar opportunities. It makes me tired!
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