we can not control the ocean but we can learn to ride the waves...

Over the past year my life drastically changed. It hard to believe that 2013 is about to come to an end in only 2 short months and 2 weeks. For me this year was a year of learning about myself and forcing myself to be accepting of change. I never really did like change, it scared me. I guess the change itself was never the scary part but more so the things that I would need to change about myself in order to adapt to the bigger change.

In September of 2013 I moved from Brooklyn, NY  to Old bridge, NJ. The actual change of living with my husband in our cozy little apartment was so exciting for me. My husband and I had been dating since December of 2007, married July 2012 (we had to continue living apart for 2 months after the wedding). The scary end of this exciting move was the fact that I now would not see my family daily the way I used to, I would have to force myself to get over my fear of driving (in Brooklyn I had public transportation at my finger tips so no need to even own a car really), I would have to make new friends, I would not get to see my friends whenever I wanted (now due to the distance these things would actually have to be planned in  advance), I would have the responsibilities of bills, money, all the responsibilities that come along with marriage and adult life.

My first year was a year full of ups and downs. In the beginning it was very hard for me to fit in my work outs. My commute to and from work became much much longer than it was when I was living in Brooklyn, plus when I would come home in the evening I had a long list of other responsibilities which would need to be taken care of. Not only was my work out routine struggling but I quickly learned marriage is a lifelong full time commitment and work in progress. I'm pretty sure in my mind I thought things would just flow but the truth is life does not always run smoothly. I think over the past year there were some times that I was unsure if I would ever be able to grasp onto the change, accept it, and figure out a routine.

WELL here I am in year two and I can say I finally have gotten the hang of this thing called marriage, I have began to develop my fitness plan of action, I have promised myself to make time for self care and for myself. Marriage is still full of ups and downs- my husband is my best friend and I can write on and on about how much he inspires me, strengthens me, and makes me face my fears. My fitness routine is a never ending journey- much like many other aspects of life full of ups and downs. I am committed to healthy living, committed to trying as hard as I can to continue to meet my fitness goals- however at the same time I am working on acknowledging that sometimes life was cause bumps in the road. Sometimes I may be faced with situations which will prevent the gym and that is perfectly fine as long as the next day I jump back into my routine.

What I have learned more than anything through the life change of moving and marriage is the following:

1. I can not control every situation however I can recognize the situation I am faced with and control how I handle it, THAT is most imporant.

2. My fitness and health goals are a lifelong commitment. One bad day or week can not undo all of the hard work I have put in over the past 2 years.

3. My marriage will not always be laughter and smiles, some days will be hard, some months we will hit more bumps in the road than other bumps however my husband is my teammate. And together is we hold on tight we can conquer what we are faced with.

..Life is full of changes, full of bumps, I can not always control the ocean but I sure can throw on my bikini and ride the waves!