Most mornings, I wake several times before I actually get out of bed. Snoozing...lots of snoozing. In between snoozes, I always give a quick glance to the window to see if the sun is out, hoping that it isn't. I'm not a vampire or photosensitive, or anything like that at all, I just love mornings like today, when the sky is gray and I can hear the rain water gushing down the gutter on the other side of my bedroom wall. It grants me license to keep the rushing around to a minimum because rain in LA is like snow anyplace else - it stops everything. And when most everyday is sunny, a little fluctuation, even if it is just a slight sprinkle, is truly an occasion.
This morning it poured and poured. I could hear the heavy drops ricocheting off the windows all while I was getting ready to leave the house. Usually, on days like these, I would prefer to not leave the house even once. But today was not one of those days, there were appointments to be kept, errands to be run.
I thought for sure my workout class in the park would be cancelled, but alas, it seems I had underestimated the tenacity of our trainer, Farrah. She put out a text early to see if anyone was willing to offer up their house for an indoor workout. When I saw the text, I knew that Heather would be up for it. She is the type that wouldn't flinch at heavy sneakers jump jacking on her hardwoods, as busy toddlers weave in and out of bedrooms and bathrooms. When I was working out next to Heather's Christmas tree, and my child was banging out tunes on her keyboard, as the rain dumped buckets, I had a flash of insight and realized how much becoming a mother has changed my life. It has opened me up and led me to places I would not have otherwise gone.
Before Rylie, I was content to workout in a room walled with mirrors, plugged into an ipod, head down, straining my neck to watch the tv screen high up on the wall in front of me. Or, I would take a yoga class and never so much as glance at another person. And I took long lonesome walks. But this group of moms, they motivate me and at the same time our children are slowly learning things like what it means to share and be gentle with one another. So on the mornigs when I really feel like staying in my bed where it is warm and cozy, I think of the companionship and support I feel once I get to class.
On days such as today, when the rain is streaming down the windows and I am bumping into a Christmas tree while doing plié squats, and the kids have just found the Billy Joel button on the keyboard's muzak selection, and one mama is breastfeeding while another is changing a diaper, I am glad and grateful that I have found these like-minded, open-hearted women and I am not at the gym, plugged into my ipod, watching Wheel of Fortune on a screen without sound.
Hello! I'm Liz Scott - mama to two little ones, maker, and all around curiosity chaser. I live with my family in Los Angeles, where we seek to fill each day with adventure, joy and creativity. I write about it all here on the blog. Thank you for visiting.
