Plans got derailed? How to stay on the health train, no matter what.

I NEED TO POOP! This is how I woke up on Sunday morning. My 5-year-old son woke up at 6 am screaming that he had to poop. Is this how I wanted to start the day? No. Is this how anyone wants to start the day? I highly doubt it, but you never know. There are some weirdos out there.

I planned to wake up before anyone else, you know, when the house is all quiet, so I could get in a meditation/ little yoga session before the chaos starts. I know, I know, a mom’s pipe dream, but this time I was determined. I went to bed early the night before, got plenty of water, and set my alarm. I was ready!

But instead, I was jolted from my deep sleep into a literal shitshow. The screaming of my son’s bowel movements also woke up my daughter, and I found myself in a 0 to 60, all hands on deck, two kid meltdown crisis before the sun was even up.

Now, naturally, I went straight into parenting mode, got my son on the toilet before we had a poo-splosion, then went to comfort my daughter. In a few minutes, a level 10 crisis downgraded to a level three.

But I couldn’t help but think, what about me?! The one time I schedule something, and this is what happens! Now at this point, I wanted to throw my hands up and say forget it, but then I remembered that I have the choice. So instead of plopping myself on the couch as the kids jump all over me. I decided to take some deep breathes, drink a big glass of water, get out my calendar and reschedule my yoga/ meditation time.

When it came time to get my yoga on, I asked my husband to take the kids out of the house to avoid any distractions. Now, were there a million other things to do? Yes, the house was a hot mess, groceries needed to bought, meals needed prepping, laundry….oh the never-ending laundry, but instead of doing ANY of that, I got on my mat and did a 30 min yoga followed by a 5 min meditation, and it felt Ah-MAZING.

OK, for those who want to geek out with me, I’m going to break down the split-second choices that led to my success.

• Remembering that I have a choice - I stepped back from the situation, took the emotions out, and looked at it from a higher level. Which helped me let go of the idea my perfect plan went to shit (pun intended).

• Drinking a big glass of water - I’m saying yes to myself. I know that drinking water is not like having Rosé on a patio, but it is sooo good for you! It clears out the sleepy brain fog and gets your body prepared for the day. When you first wake up, you haven’t had any water for the past 7- 8 hours, which means - ya parched!

• Getting out my calendar - I am holding myself accountable. Studies show that by writing a goal down, I am more likely to accomplish it instead of having it float around in my head.

• Asking my husband to take the kids - I am asking for what I need and letting go of the responsibility of child-rearing.

• Deciding that I am more important than the million chores - I am saying yes to myself, taking empowered action and putting my needs over the sticky cheerios on the floor.

The moral of the story is even though I had my workout planned out, it went to the poopers, and instead of giving up, I took a breath, regrouped and got MY shit together.

Oh, and for those who are curious, it turns out my son just needed to fart.

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