in 2004 I was involved in a minor accident with major repercussions. I lost complete vision in my right eye with a total of 14 injuries all caused by airbags. Due to the blood in my eye, I wasn’t aware I would have permanent vision loss until three weeks after the accident. From there, my life seemed to be turned upside down and I had to see life through a new lens. Things wouldn’t be the same, but I could either dwell on it or get up, change my attitude and make the most of it. So i chose the latter.

After being out of shape and overweight for many years I decided to make 2005 “The Year of Bacon” and make some real progress. Needless to say a change in attitude really paved the way for so many wonderful things. I lost weight, became healthy, started dating my now husband, got an incredible job as a writer, bought a house and so on and so forth. Things were looking up. By Christmas, I decided to make 2006 a year to do something big and bold and signed up for a triathlon on Jan 1.

Fast forward 8 years. I have now purchased another house, have had two jobs since that last one, married, and have two kids. Finding time for workouts became quite hard and weight slowly crept back up. Steamed vegetables and hour-long prepped meals turned into oven-baked tater tots and way too much fast food. Sadly, I knew with every bite that what i was eating was not good for me. I could not claim ignorance. And with each missed day’s workouts, I knew those same bites would stick around longer than they used to.

But i have two young children, I always argued. I dont have time for workouts or creating elaborate healthy meals. But in my mind I knew they were excuses. So now we are in 2015 and on the last day of last year (three days ago) i decided to start over in 2015 and cut myself some slack but only if I really say I tried. I signed up for ANOTHER triathlon. It has been six years since my last one (i’ve done 4 total) so i might as well be a novice again. I convinced my sister to do it and it is going to be quite an adventure. I have a goal in mind and the only way to get there is by practice. So now, I am signing up for the gym again, re-committing myself to more days than not of exercising, and forgiving myself if I can’t spend as much time with my kids because i’m going to stay late to go to the gym. I know my 4-month old is in good hands if his dad picks him up or if he has to stay at daycare 10.5 hours instead of 10. Yes, those numbers kill me to write, but that’s what working parents do. We barely see our kids during the week and for some reason, they seem to love us even more.

So, here’s to starting over. May 30th will be here soon!