Choices – Janathon Day 30

I chose the gym over alcohol tonight.

I’d had one of those days – you know the ones – when you’ve got issues with your kids on your mind and work is tricky. Normally a cold beer or perfectly mixed Cuba Libre sorts me out, but tonight I realised a workout was what I needed.

Is this a watershed moment?

I think it might be.

I think I go to the gym as much for my mental health as my physical health. You see, we all have mental health – it’s just that some people’s is good, some people’s is bad and most people’s fluctuate between the two.

Rather than open a bottle of wine and bake a Camembert – which inevitably leads to indigestion and morning-after guilt for indulging so much on a weeknight – a gym visit has lasting benefits. For me anyway. I’m not selling memberships.

I turned up the tunes, threw myself into my programme and stretched long and strong afterwards. Then I put my swimsuit on and stood for ages in the “rainforest shower” (red and green lights and five shower heads). I sat in the steam room, the jacuzzi and the sauna, just breathing and being.

I finished up with a leisurely shower and a seat to properly blow dry. Now I’m sitting with peppermint tea in the cafe, reflecting.

Balance is a big word in my life. I’m so many things to so many people; Mum, wife, sister, daughter, friend, PR manager, writer, comms consultant, clerk to the school parent council…. I’m also, somewhere, someone to myself. As long as all these elements get the attention they deserve, then life is good. Do they ever get the attention I’d like to give them? Well, therein lies the rub.

All any of us can do is our best. All we can do is try to make the right choices.

Tonight I did.

stats

calories 640

steps 11,160

total distance 9.17km

alcohol 0