Kate has challenged us to kick off our Striking Mum's campaigns for 2015 with an introductory post. She has posed some questions for us to answer so here I go:
1. Look at an old photograph of yourself. How does it make you feel? What hopes and dreams did that person have? What things did they enjoy doing? What might this person say to you now?
I was looking at the photo album my mum and son made for me this Christmas with old photos showing my life so far. This set was me as a toddler:
I was so sweet and innocent, full of adventure and keen to learn about the world around me! My granny and I had such a fabulous relationship and I miss having her around. I would say to myself carry on wanting to know how things work and make the most of family whilst you have them. My younger self might ask where some of my adventurous spirit has gone as I am a lot more cautious now!
Kate has set us this week’s questions to consider.
1. Are you different and, if so, how?
Not as different as I used to be! When I was at primary school I was super tall and wore glasses.. Not only that but a few times I was the new girl at school from another part of the UK. Always a bit of a tomboy too. I even played the trombone and then took up rugby. Not sure how different I am these days..
2. Do you celebrate your uniqueness or strive to fit in?
As a younger child I did my best to fit in - I picked up the local accent as soon as possible, avoided wearing my specs (thank goodness for the invention of contact lenses!) etc. As I grew older I have grown proud of my specs and my height and tell my children its cool to be different!
3. Are you ever judgemental of other mums who are different from you? Answer honestly even if only in your own head.
Its almost impossible not to be! Then again in the back of my mind I do wonder what judgements other people make of me..
4. What would you like to be different about you?
I'd like to be quieter and slimmer!!
5. Have you ever being attacked or bullied for being different? How did that affect you?
At primary school I was called names for my height such as Godzilla and called Specky Becky. As an adult I did have a few years of being deemed too posh by other school mums due to my Buckinghamshire accent. Otherwise OK!
6. If you had to write an advert for yourself as a limited edition ,what would you say to make people think you were great?
I had to ask my kids! Apparently I am cuddly and clever oh and pretty ;-)
I would like to think that I am inspirational to other mums to be positive and to other unfit folks that getting out there and running is possible for anyone!
I have decided to join in with Kate On Thin Ice's Striking Mums group to help motivate me to improve my life and my children's lives! Each week she is giving us prompts to ponder on. Here I go with this week's ones:
Are you match fit as a mum?
Well having stood on the scales on the last day of the school holiday I would have to say no! I need to lose a fair amount of weight to be healthier and to be able to keep up with the children.. My running took a major back seat during the school holidays and it is showing in my weight..
So now we are back in routine (although its a new one for me) I need to get running again on a regular basis. I also need to take more care about what I am eating and drinking to help shift the extra pounds.
Luckily I am up to date with all the health checks that I qualify for so its a case of just doing my best to get that healthy weight range. Its going to take planning and organisation but its all feasible.
Let's hope I can squeeze in more runs like this one around my training:
What baby step can you take towards your hopes and dreams this week?
Well I took a huge step and started my teacher training course. One week in and I am surviving so far. Its taken a long time to reach this point so I had better make the most of it...
Who can help you on your journey
I wouldn't be able to do the training without a huge amount of help from my parents and other local family. Having people around to share the load when it comes to school runs and even over night stays is worth its weight in gold. So grateful that my family are fully behind me on this big step.
Hope other mums join in and support each other.
