I am writing this blog in hopes it inspires you or at least gets you motivated to be better today than you were yesterday. This is my motto in life. Each day is a success when I make better choices, better decisions and simply strive to be a better me than I was the day before.
I met my husband in 1999; he was a valet at a hotel in downtown Phoenix and he parked my car. No, he didn’t use a catchy pick up line on me! Instead, it was me who did the picking up! Yup, that’s right! I picked up the guy who parked my car!! At the time, I was a flight attendant, and he was attending college working on his degree. We married, with our closest friends and family there to support us, on a hot Phoenix summer day in 2002! The next year, we learned we were expecting our first child.
We were thrilled! However, whoever said they enjoyed pregnancy must have been crazy… I didn’t enjoy anything about it. I felt sick to my stomach every day. The muscles and parts of my body were so sore I couldn’t hug anyone and some days I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry and I had no idea why! I guess perhaps the enjoyable part was “eating for two”, as I became addicted to Grandma’s cinnamon rolls! I had her send them in the mail all the way from Nebraska so I could consume cinnamon rolls like it was my job! I gained over 50 lbs. with my first pregnancy. I wasn’t too worried, I figured I will just have to work out a little and it will come off. In 2004, we joyfully welcomed our first born, a daughter, Kaela Mae.
I enjoyed being a mom! As time went by, and Kaela was becoming a toddler, I didn’t seem to worry about how I was going to get the weight off. I was just feeling like it will come off “one of these days”. Kaela was born via c-section due to complications with her delivery so I knew it would take a while for those stomach muscles to come back. In 2008 we welcomed home our 2nd child, our son Kade aka “Kademan”.
During my second pregnancy I was careful not to eat as much… that really, eating for two is a myth! A fantasy lost on my blisftful ignorance the first pregnancy! I did not need to double my caloric intake to make sure my child would keep growing! Kade was born via repeat C-section, so again, my core abdominal muscles were cut and they were going to need time to heal.
When Kade was about 5 months old, we started to notice he was not hitting his developmental milestones. Over years of testing Kade, we have found no answers. We have been through so many tests, so many emotional rollercoasters. It has been 5 years of ups and downs, tears and fears, and yet we still have no answers. Kade just turned 5 years old and his undiagnosed neuromuscular disorder affects his ability to walk, talk, and eat. As you can imagine, the emotional, and mental toll this has taken on our family has been tough. We have been affected both as a family unit but also, each of us, individually.
My life became consumed with doctor appointments, therapies, caregiving, and hospital visits. My life also became a juggling act, trying to find the answers to help him, keep my daughter active in dance and school, and try to keep the household running normal . Plus, I had to find time to be a wife. It was hard. But one thing I needed that I wasn’t trying to “squeeze” in my day was time for me. I knew I needed time to give to me. Not time to cry – because I couldn’t control the life around me. Not time to stand outside the car for an extra minute or two while the kids screamed impatiently and I pretended I couldn’t hear them.
No, I needed time for me, to do what I want, to release some stress. And that’s when I knew I needed to start to get out there and get active again. I knew if I devoted time to my physical and mental well-being, I could be a better mom, advocate, and wife. It was a pivotal feeling. At that point I knew I could help my family if I focused on being better and better each day. At one time I had heard the words “Be better today than you were yesterday”, and each day I live by those words.
Kelly Groff – Team Jeremy Scott Fitness