The Homestand - And my body's struggle to adjust.

It's no secret that I'm a creature of habit.  I love having my own routine and I thrive on sticking with it.  I get up at 7 a.m. every morning, drink about 70 ounces of water (no joke! - spread out over about an hour and a half), have one cup of coffee followed by my Fiber One/Kashi cereal mix with some fruit followed by a cup of green tea and my multivitamin.  NBC's Today Show is usually on in the background as I enjoy my morning - catching up on any facebooking I've missed, waking the dogs to go outside, and getting ready for the day.  Then it is either onto a  hot yoga class or to Louisville Athletic Club to strength train.  I'm home by 11:30 usually, get a quick little something to eat (usually an apple or half a protein bar) and off for an hour power walk with Lucy and Gus.  The rest of the afternoon consists of any errands or chores that need done - grocery shopping, cleaning the apartment, paying bills, etc., etc..  This way, I have the evening to have dinner with friends, catch a little bit of the ball game if the team is in town, or just relax.  Then I'm in bed by 10:30 or 11.


This is the way it goes.  This is the way I operate and the way my body functions best.  I do a pretty good job at staying in tune with my body and what it needs.  I make sure to get at least 7 1/2-8 hours of sleep, my meals are balanced and spread out just right, and I make darn sure I'm getting plenty of laughter, fun, and love mixed in throughout the day.  


Call me crazy - I know what you're thinking - why keep such a strict routine when I have no job and my life is constantly changing anyway?  But after years of trying to get this just right, my routine now allows me to 1) have something constant in my life  2) contribute to my family by efficiently and sufficiently taking care of them and 3) have a near perfect balance of everything in my life in order to keep my mood lifted and my attitude positive.  Because if nobody's ever told you before, I'll be the first to tell you and I'll wear you out with how important it is: The way you live, and by this I mean - how much sleep you get, how much and what kind of physical activity you do, what you eat and when you eat, the enjoyment you get out of just each day- these components have SUCH a profound effect on your mood and your whole being - you have no idea. 


I recognize that I am very blessed to be able to keep a great routine.  Our lifestyle at this point allows me the freedom to do this.  


Now, having the discipline to stick to this is fairly easy while Matt is on the road.  Throw a nice long homestand in there, and it can all go out the window.  Coming home from a roadtrip, Matt is used to sleeping in until 10:30 or 11 a.m., eating breakfast at noon, going to the field at 1:30 and not getting home until after 10 at night.  This means late nights and late mornings - and a huge adjustment for both of us.  


You see, although I am a routine-junkie, I understand that I must have a little wiggle room.  Even after 10 years of being with a man that is here one week, gone the next, I am still working out the kinks of how to wiggle just right so that I'm happy, he's happy, and both our bodies are happy and healthy.  And I am incredibly blessed to have a husband that believes in that same little wiggle room and will meet me halfway. 


So, my 10:30 bedtimes turn into 11:30's as my 7 a.m. wake-ups push back to 8 a.m.'s.  My yoga mornings stay the same - I get to enjoy a 9:30 class while Mo gets to enjoy playing video games without me there to complain.  We get to walk the dogs together - I slow my pace a tad because he hates to power walk.  My gyms mornings turn into gym afternoons - heading there after I drop Mo at the field around 2:30.  And my eating routine is a little more relaxed as far as being able to go out to eat for breakfast (thats Mo and I's favorite meal to eat out), having a little bit of Matt's post game spread for dinner at 10:30 p.m. or having more sweets in the house during a homestand (because Matt loves his candy).  All this change can really throw my body off, which in turn affects my mood.  So, then I am challenged to adjust my mindset and habits a bit in order to find happiness in chaos.  


And Matt's day shifts to an earlier morning (usually he rolls out of bed around 8:30 or 9), a little more activity before he goes to the field (the dog walk), a tad later arrival at the field (in order to spend more time with his family), and ducking out of the clubhouse as quick as he can after the game to get home to us.  - Just typing and describing those little adjustments he makes to meet me halfway makes me full of gratitude towards him.


This all seems great, no doubt, and I am not complaining at all.  However, it is and will continue to be a bit of a struggle for my mind and body to adjust to.  Letting my routine go a little bit, not being such a stick-to-the-plan freak - instead allowing myself to just be - to just go with the flow and enjoy right where I am at.  It has taken me a long time to be okay with this back and forth and I still struggle with it.  It is harder than you might imagine if you don't have a lifestyle that requires you to change your schedule and your mindset every 8 or 9 days.  


This challenge of juggling routines has helped me immensely to evolve as a person.  It has forced me to deal with the fact that life will not always go the way I plan it - and I have to be okay with that, open to change, and able to compromise.  The yoga, and I know I always go back to it but its true, the yoga has really saved my life in this way.  The spiritual component of letting go and the physical and mental part of being still have opened my eyes to a life where I am so much less uptight and so much more grateful for every single moment - even if it was not part of my original routine.  A year ago, breaking my routine threw me into a tizzy, stressed me out, fired me up.  But I knew that if I was going to live with Matt full-time during the season and if I wanted to be truly happy, something had to change - I had to evolve.  The yoga has helped me to do that.  Matt's understanding, compassion, and willingness to compromise has helped me to do that.  And the people that I know and meet, whether very similar to me or far different, have helped me to become better, have shown me what I want to grow into or what I don't want to be like.  They've helped me learn important lessons and I am grateful for that.  


I am certain that I will continue to struggle with the changes and uncertainty of our lifestyle - but, instead of holding onto that and allowing it to affect me negatively, I will let go of the struggle and enjoy the growing pains, really trusting that its part of the process and its making me stronger every day.

If you want a revolution, 
the only solution:

Evolve. 
You gotta evolve.