The workout gone bad

I find it so hard to fit in exercise as a mom of young kids. A group of ladies from my church meet at a local high school Monday mornings with all their kids and walk/run the track, so I was excited to start participating. The first few weeks I went were great.  I could power walk while pushing my non running stroller, talk with friends, and jog a few laps around the track.  It was great motivation, and working out is always better with friends.  The boys would be pretty content sitting in the stroller, snacking, playing angry birds, and just enjoying the ride.
One day the track coach was running the track and quickly informed us that strollers are not permitted on the track.  Apparently they ruin it. Oops, we didn't know that.  So I got my boys out and thought we would all take a walk.  We made it to the first turn when Griffin sat down and started yelling at his new shoes that have shoe laces.  For some reason he hates them and thinks that when they flop around they are "breaked." I finally convinced him they were not broken and around the turn we went.  We hit the straight and Gavin informed me that he had to use the bathroom really bad and he was going to pee in his underwear.  So we cut across the field to find the bathrooms in the basketball court.  The accident was avoided and back we went to the track.
 Instead of following me on the walk, both boys headed straight for the bleachers.  Here I paused with an internal debate.  Do I let them play while I run?  There are lots of older kids around and they are having fun climbing. All the other mom's just let their kids run free. I'll be able to see them from anywhere on the track right? Griffin's old enough right?  I see another mom feeding a baby and ding!  I bet she would keep an eye on them while I make one lap.  I didn't even reach her before both my boys were yelling at me "come back Mom!  Don't leave. Stay here!"  They were seriously angry and I hadn't even taken five steps away from them.  So I went to talk to Gavin and let him know he could climb and run and have fun with all the other kids while I jogged and that I would be right back. I told him he could even watch me and cheer me on! That conversation was met with more anger and concern to the point that tears were welling up in his eyes.
At this point I let out an exasperated sigh and sat down to watch the boys play on the bleachers.  My eyes wondered to the scene around me.  There were at least eight other moms walking the track.  Most had gone around at least five times since we arrived and I had only done a very slow half lap.  Their kids were chasing each other, laughing, doing jumping jacks, practicing their long jumps, climbing on the bleachers, and playing perfectly fine without their mothers right by their side.  They weren't looking for mom, or crying at her distance.  They didn't seem to even be aware of the distance. It is then that my mind said what is wrong with my kids? Why can't they be normal and want to run away and play on their own?  Don't they want to explore the world around them? Have I unintentionally trained them to be attached to my hip?  I don't have an answer for any of it.
It was then that Gavin proclaimed that he had to pee again.  Really? It had only been five minutes, and the bathrooms were not close.  He won the war and back we headed to the bathrooms.  As we walked to the bathrooms I lectured Gavin on getting all his pee pee out at one time so we don't have to keep going back to the bathroom. I don't think any of it sunk in.
As we washed our hands and stepped back outside, all my motivation to work out was completely gone.  I was grumpy and sulking I decide to give up and head home. Griffin wouldn't walk with his "broken" shoes, so I had to carry him to go get the stroller. But as we walked out his cute little hands kept grabbing my face and his big cheesy grin kept yelling "kiss!"  His puckering lips sure know how to plant them on me.  After about ten kisses my grumpiness was completely melted.  I looked at his cute little face and realize that although having overly attached children can be exhausting, there is nothing in the world like being adored and loved by a child. And I am lucky enough to have two little boys that really do love me.


We arrived home and Gavin headed to the bathroom once again. But this time I chose to turn my annoyance to gratitude that he is finally potty trained.  In that moment I reminded myself that my attitude is a choice. If you look for the good, it is always there. I may not have had a good workout, but we did have chocolate chip cookies waiting for us, and those were better than any workout.