Cardio cleaning!

Rose woke up at 5:45am today and started urgently turning on lights and talking loudly. Jay managed to stay asleep, but Amber woke up and started crying. My first thought when I heard all the commotion was "not fair! WHYYYY??" I felt welded to my bed, but peeled myself out to get Amber some milk. It was hard. I went back and sat in bed to let myself wake up a little more. I kept dozing! And feeling annoyed at Rose for storming through the house waking everyone up! Jeff left for work right after she woke up, and she felt the need to tell us all about him leaving. Somehow through my sleepy haze I recognized my grumpy mood as an opportunity to be patient and kind rather than storm and fume, and I did my best to smooth my ruffled feathers. I assure you, it was not easy, and I didn't really feel kind while I was holding back my irritated sighs and cranky epithets. I did tell Rose once or twice (in what I hope was a calm, informative way) that if she wakes up before 6am, it's polite to let everyone else sleep! My mood was almost in hand when I decided to read my scriptures, like I have been doing for the past few weeks--sitting in bed, first thing in the morning. I'm not the most perceptive at that time of day but it has been my best chance for some level of quiet while I read. So I [somewhat grudgingly] read a conference talk sitting in bed, then officially "got up" for the day. [also somewhat grudgingly]

I stumbled tiredly through breakfast preparations and kid/kitchen cleanup with the help of some soothing Enya music and finally felt a bit more myself when I was brushing my teeth. I was in desperate need of a shower, to the point that I just couldn't get dressed until that happened. I was trying to figure out if I wanted to do any exercise before that shower, in spite of my tiredness. One glance at the clock told me I had to decide NOW so I could exercise or shower before it was time to take Jay to school.

The view from our back window. It was very white outside this morning: white snow, white fog, white clouds. 

In an instant, it came to me: I would do an indoor run! I donned running shorts and short sleeves for the first time in months and tied on my running shoes. When I started jogging in place and all around the house, I had a second inspiration shine upon me: I could combine exercise with cleaning! Cardio cleaning! The running part was not as important as getting my heart rate up, so I started dashing around, picking things up and straightening up the rooms. I jogged in place while I swept the kitchen, laughing at myself because I could tell how hilarious it looked--like I had a bursting bladder! I dashed up and down the hall, lunging and grabbing things from the floor and running them to their boxes and shelves. I ran up and down the stairs over and over. I danced (kind of) and frolicked all over the basement, tidying up the rooms down there. And it was FUN! It was SO much more fun than running on a treadmill, and it was even more fun than just running in place in the kitchen too, like I have done on certain desperate days in the past.

Time flew, and before I knew it, my 30 minutes were up and I had a "nice" sweat going along with an elevated heart rate. Take that, snowy slippery roads! In yo face, broken treadmill! My indoor cleaning cardio whirlwind workout made me feel like a superhero, whirling from one cluttered room to the next, leaving order in my wake. How often have I broken a sweat vacuuming floors or scrubbing sticky stuff off kitchen counters? Why didn't I think of cardio cleaning sooner? It's just the thing! I may yet make it through this icy snowy winter with my fitness intact AND pneumonia-free.

Thankfully Jay and Rose were playing in Jay's room for most of my crazy indoor run, so I didn't trample them. Rose came out during the last few minutes and we leaped and flew around the basement together, giggling. Bonus: Amber had the best time chasing me around the house! Heaven knows what she thought of her crazy, capering mother, but she trailed after me--up and down stairs and all around, with squeals and a big grin on her face. That made my exercise even better.

The view from our front window. Burrr.

I drove Jay to school (carefully over the white slick roads) in my running shorts. Burrr! When the girls and I got home, I was still soaring on my endorphine rush. I walked into the piano room to admire my handiwork, and suddenly felt the  urge to play the piano. The hymnbook was open to hymns #66 (Rejoice the Lord is King) and #67 (Glory to God on High). I played them both a few times through, accompanied by Amber. When I attempted playing them just this past Sunday, I felt so finger-tangled and rusty, but today I was in a GROOVE! If you can groove with hymns, I managed it. Hah! I still stumbled every few measures, but it was a vast improvement over last time--the contrast made it doubly satisfying. And the words to those hymns just fit my heady happy mood, adding to my euphoria. I turned to another rousing favorite, hymn #75 (In Hymns of Praise) and played that one through a few times too. I felt great!

The words to the hymns fit my mood perfectly:
In hymns of praise your voices raise
To him who reigns on high,
Whose counsels keep the mighty deep,
Who ruleth earth and sky.
Exalt his name in loud acclaim;
His mighty pow'r adore!
And humbly bow before him now,
Our King forevermore.

Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Your Lord and King adore!
Mortals, give thanks and sing
And triumph evermore.
Lift up your heart! Lift up your voice!
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!
Lift up your heart! Lift up your voice!

Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

 Glory to God on high!
Let heav'n and earth reply.
Praise ye his name.
His love and grace adore,
Who all our sorrows bore.
Sing aloud evermore:
Worthy the Lamb!

Jesus, our Lord and God,
Bore sin's tremendous load.
Praise ye his name.
Tell what his arm has done,
What spoils from death he won.
Sing his great name alone:
Worthy the Lamb!

Let all the hosts above
Join in one song of love,
Praising his name.
To him ascribed be
Honor and majesty
Thru all eternity:

Worthy the Lamb!

I mean, YES! What joyful words to sing in the morning! And the music that goes with them is so cheerful. It felt wonderful to pump my good mood into playing music. I didn't/couldn't sing along with my stumble-bumble playing, but I read the words when I could (and fumbled  more because of it, ha ha). Happy Shaina's spirits soared, even on the broken melody played with clumsy fingers!

It's amazing the POWER that is in one choice: deciding to grab the day by the horns rather than letting the day...I was going to say "gore me" but that sounds gross. What I'm trying to say is: it IS worth the effort to overcome grumpy early mornings, wake up, and find the joy in a frigid morning.