Living in the Moment

If you have been following our blog for awhile, you may remember reading a post about not feeling so sparkly.  I was the author of that post and I wasn’t feeling sparkly for a good reason, I was pregnant! I was trying to deal with the changes that were happening to my body physically and emotionally.

Since I trained for an Ironman Triathlon for about 9 months, I looked at my 9 months of pregnancy as just another endurance event that I was training my body to accomplish! I was blessed with an easy pregnancy and was able to stay active right until the end …which by the way, was longer than it should’ve been (I went to 41 weeks).  I ran until I was 26 weeks, swam until 36, and walked right up until the day before delivering. Heck, I was cutting the lawn at 40 weeks! I am sure my neighbors thought I was crazy, but what else was I supposed to do? Being out there made me feel useful and deep down I was hoping to induce labor on my own. ;) Anyway, physically I was ready for what was about to take place and when my water broke and labor started I was able to keep my eye on the end goal and get the job done.

There was no way I could’ve prepared myself for how I would feel mentally or emotionally at the end of my first pregnancy.  You hear it all the time from people who have gone through it, but I guess you can never truly understand how your whole existence can change in just a few moments until you experience it.   Because I thought I understood, but I’ll be honest, I had no idea!!!  I will simply say that having a child is a miraculous experience that changed my life in ways I didn’t know were possible. My husband always told me that just when you think your heart is full with love, a whole new place is made for the love you have for your new child. He was right! My heart is overflowing with love for this little angel of mine.

I am excited to say that exactly one month ago today; my beautiful baby boy was welcomed into the world while Jason Mraz’s “Living in the Moment” was playing in the background.  We were fortunate enough to have a wonderful nurse who helped create a serene setting for his arrival. Caleb was born at 10:58am on Tuesday, June 24^th. He weighed in at 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 21 inches long.  

Thankfully, I’m healthy and feeling excited to start working out again, but as I said above things have certainly changed.  I probably don’t have a long distance race anywhere in my near future, I’m going to start out slow.  I’m lucky to have the support of my Sparkle.Pounce. sisters who are getting me back into the groove with a 5k in August.  For now, fitness is about ensuring I have a healthy balance in my life; it helps me be confident, stress-free and “live in the moment”, like my little man.  When I’m all of those things, I’m the best version of me: a better friend, sister, wife and mom.  Sparkle. Pounce.

-Sarah