Sometimes we all need a swift kick in the...

...well, you know.  I certainly can benefit from time to time.  A prime example is my lack of discipline when it comes to exercise.  I was doing great for a while, back before it got REALLY freaking hot outside.  However, all I was doing was walking.  I continued to make up excuse after excuse as to why I couldn't just try to jog a little bit.

I'm nursing, so I don't want to burn TOO many calories...then my milk might dry up. (Which is totally an excuse, and I'm sure my body would cue me in to the fact that I needed to consume more calories.)
I might get out of breath and sweat...(Duh, that's KIND of the point, right?)
I'll try it tomorrow...(I am the QUEEN of procrastination...just ask anyone.)

Now that my husband is back in town, and on an exercise kick of his own after taking a much needed sabbatical from his routine when he came back to the U.S., he is my personal trainer.  Every morning he coaxes me out of bed in the morning so we can go for a "walk".   Granted, he doesn't make me get up before the roosters do, but it's still at a time of day where I'd rather be lying in bed snuggling with Tristan or having my first cup of coffee for the day.

We start out with a leisurely walk, and progress to my husband challenging me to jog "from here to the stop sign" or "from here to the next street".  The first day I got a little cocky.  I told him, "I can run farther than that stop sign".  BIG MISTAKE.  Since I made it seem so easy, he pushed me a little harder the next time.  It's like that game you played as a kid called "Mercy".  I submit, Mercy!!  

In the evenings, after my husband comes home from work and finishes his workout at the gym, we go for another "walk".  Strangely enough, these "walks" are becoming more "jogging" than "walking".  When I tell him that I can't go any farther, he encourages me.  He doesn't yell at me, or make fun of me, or make any negative comments.  Instead, he just continues to be positive, tell me that I CAN do it, and gives me a gentle, yet, swift, kick in my rear.  I love him for it.  He needs to hear this, because typically I am protesting the entire time.

These "walks" together give us a chance to reconnect at the end of the day without cell phones, email, Facebook, work, and even Tristan from interrupting us.  We can talk about the things that are on our minds, our goals for the future, our plans for the weekend, etc. while we walk side by side, pointing out homes that catch our eyes, landscaping designs that look awesome, and some yards that are not so awesome.  Tristan is content to go along for the ride in his BOB stroller, so long as the sun isn't right in his eyes.

After it's all said and done, there is another reward besides the quality time with one another.  Fitting back into pre-pregnancy clothes is one of them, and I experienced that reward today!  Maybe this jogging thing isn't so bad after all!