To start my story let me back up first…all the way to college…the first attempt….I admit…I drank quite a bit of beer and didn’t lead the healthiest lifestyle…actually let me go even farther back…middle school and high school…I have a ZERO athletic background and I was literally a “drama queen”…I had a great time with acting and performing but compared to sports this isn’t a very physically demanding activity...and somehow I always had some sort of “ailments” each time we had to run the mile or do anything too demanding in P.E.…
Ok…back to college and the beer drinking…I know I’m not alone in the beer drinking/unhealthy living a college freshman quickly adjusts too…I adjusted to it quicker than I did my class schedule…sorry Mom and Dad…my point in this parental confession being that I still had NO push towards being healthy or getting “fit”…dating Mr. Rigard definitely added the concept of activity to my life though he absolutely loves bringing up that each time he would invite me to join him at the gym I would respond by saying….”the gym? Why?”…obviously that attitude has changed and evolved over the years…Ryan taught me how to mountain bike and even though he didn’t find it very “exciting” we did a lot of hiking and backpacking together…we even spent our honeymoon in Moab, UT mountain biking and camping…
I have to mention the most ironic and unhealthiest part of all of this was none other than …nursing school…completely unhealthy for me and probably many students who survive the process…the stress…the little time you think you have for exercising…eating whatever and eating it on-the-go…I honestly have never “struggled” with my weight but I would say the second attempt at college and being in nursing school was by far the “unhealthiest” I have ever been…we joke that making it through Ryan’s accident and then nursing school has totally sealed the deal on our relationship…nothing can break those bonds!
As big of a turning point that Ryan’s accident was in all the obvious ways…it was also a turning point in the respect that I had a new perspective on taking care of myself….I knew I needed to take care of myself so I could take care of Ryan…and in the beginning it was hard to envision what life was going to look like…how much help if any was he going to need from me?…I wanted to be able to do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING he needed me to do…I didn’t want to have to depend on any other person…friend, family or stranger to help me accomplish those things…it was like I was possessed by some need to PROVE my ability to take care of Ryan in each and every way…well if you know us now that whole concept of Ryan needing help has been completely blown out of the water…and I am SO thankful…not that I’m glad he doesn’t need my help…I’m just so glad he’s INDEPENDENT…Ryan definitely needs me and I definitely need him but not in the ways I was anticipating….I think Ryan has maintained his activity level…albeit it is different than before but the quantity of activity hasn’t decreased…my activity on the other hand has certainly increased by leaps and bounds…it started with running when we returned home from Craig hospital…I ran my first 10k then my first ½ marathon then another 10k…then another ½ marathon…remember…this is all from a girl who was always “sick” each time she was asked to run a single mile...with the encouragement from the most amazing husband, family and friends I have kept at it…I joined a local commercial gym…got comfortable doing “my thing” there and was ok at showing up 2-3 times a week…the only problem being that I didn’t always know what “my thing” was and I wasn’t seeing tons of results…another problem being I didn’t know what I wanted those “results” to be…get “in shape” is a pretty vague goal…eventually I switched gyms via a kind gift from my in-laws…yes they say gym memberships are NOT nice gifts but in my situation it was one of the best gifts I have ever received…I’ve told them before and I’ll tell them again…thanks Dick and Karen…your generosity has literally helped me find myself…I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I now belong to a Crossfit gym and I have changed in so many ways…my body has physically changed but I’ve mentally changed too…Ryan says I’m more confident and outgoing…I’m happier and less stressed…I know that surviving September 15, 2006 was the hardest thing I’ve done up to this point in my life…pairing that survival skill with my new found “me” I admit that sometimes I feel unstoppable in the sense that I can walk into an unfamiliar situation and face it with confidence and know without a doubt I will make it through…as I sit in front of this computer…writing this to you…I’ve contemplated NOT sharing pictures of my so called “transformation” that has taken place over the past year…but if I don’t share them, then I’m not living up to my claim of being “fearless”…
I want to encourage each and every one of you that want to make those changes for yourself that you CAN DO IT!!! You can do ANYTHING you set your mind to doing…I feel so good and so happy at this place in my life…this feeling is a gift and I wish the same for everyone reading this…thanks always for all the love and support…Ryan and I are doing so great right now…I welcome you to join Ryan and I in our quest to simply be our best each and every day…whatever that is to you…you won’t regret it and I BELIEVE you can do it…go get your dream!
1 comment:
Saying You Rock isn't quite enough, Jenny. I'm proud of you for writing all of that out for us and for showing the before and Now pictures. You should be quite proud of yourself for accomplishing so much! You encourage me to try harder to whip my butt (ok, and the rest of me) into shape like I was in 2009!
Love you,
Aunt Rosemary
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