Prior to being pregnant, when West was but an idea, all I heard about being a parent made it sound like a pretty raw deal.
- Time alone with your spouse, gone.
- Time alone with your thoughts, gone. Spontaneity, gone.
- No more reading, romantic evenings, fifteen mile hikes, or beer gardens.
- No more time to pursue being you and things that you love.
We were already on the fence. The marketing on the whole parenting gig is… poor.
Then I got pregnant. I made those losses specific to me. All that running you do, good luck after this kid is born! Say hasta luego to road trips on a whim!
So here I am to tell you a little secret. You can be a parent and still be a badass. Is it a bit harder to maintain your legendary status? Sure it is, but you can do it.
I trail run pretty seriously but not all that competitively. I race about once a year, typically on trails with some distance and lots of elevation gain.
But running is non-negotiable for me. It runs deep to the core of my existence. I need mountain and forest trails.
I run as much now as I did pre-West. In fact, I just ran the Crested Butte Ultra 55K. I even came in 6th in my age group (!). I had long training runs that took upwards of five hours. I made it work with the help of an extremely supportive husband.
Don’t let ‘time poverty’ stop you
Time poverty is usually a construct. Priorities matter. And we double time it – Greg cleans the kitchen, while I give Weston a bath. I meal plan for a week so trips to the store are less frequent. And we keep meals more simple than we once did.
My husband also does all the outdoor things – skiing, fishing, and mountain biking.
Plus that whole J O B thing. Full time… All the time.
A day in our household looks something like this:
- Kate wakes up early and runs pre-work, while Greg hangs with West
- West goes to morning daycare
- Greg and Kate work
- Shorty lunchtime walk before picking up West
- Greg mountain bikes in the afternoon
- Occasional 15 minute yoga, while the baby naps in the afternoon
- An after work family adventure, mini hike or time hanging by the river
- West goes to bed
- Greg and Kate hang by the fire pit and read before bed. With wine. Bordeaux today, maybe
After having West, I realized how much time was really in the day and all the opportunities to fill that time up. It brought focus to what matters and how we want to show up as parents and individuals.
So yeah, we’re still pretty cool, at least that’s what we keep telling ourselves.
