Beginning Again

Wow, 2022 into 2023 was a ride like nothing I anticipated!

I was working at writing in 2022 and came across an email in my inbox from a recruiter at Cincinnati Children's. I was curious, but not overly interested as I had not been working outside the home (as I was doing my own thing with coaching and art and whatnot). 

But this email and this job description peaked my interest because of working with women with depression; specifically postpartum moms. What? There's a job for this!!?? Cool! So I let it sit with me for a couple of days and then discussed with my husband that I just wondered about doing an interview. Well, one thing led to another and to another and the ball began rolling. We set a start date in June 2022 while credentialling for being medical staff was approved and they would prepare to bring me on.

Whew, what I did not anticipate was how working from home with my boys over the summer was HARD and I began to see some of my healthy habits shifting. I became more focused on working, striving and pouring top energy into doing therapy for these women, connecting with the pediatric clinics and cultivating new systems in my life. 

And as winter months came, I ate and ate and ate, and I stopped working out like I had been because "I'd rather focus on the next session." Gradually I watched the scale go up and my clothes become tighter. Every week, I could see what direction I was going and quarterly I would re-evaluate, but not fully commit.

Fastforward to today and I'm more than 15-17 pounds heavier, have less muscle, have much less energy and sit most of my work days (whether driving to home therapy sessions to sit or sitting in front of a screen for telehealth sessions). I'm lucky if I get 5,000 steps!

I have LOVED BODI (beachbody on demand), but the choice fatigue continued to hit me, and I just didn't feel like moving like I used to-especially if it was 30 minutes or more. Forget about 45 minutes! What full-time working mom has 45 minutes to sweat and then clean up! And I was not about to sacrifice my sleep (that was Kara in her 30's, she is now in her 40's).

So this is Day ONE of using a different Lifestyle and Nutrition Company's resources and custom meal plan. This time I paid for a customized meal plan because although I KNOW how to develop a meal plan and do ALL the steps. I DO NOT WANT TO DO IT. I want someone else to do it for me and sure enough, it is working. She (the coach) calculated out my appropriate macros and caloric intake and now I simply have to follow it "mostly". I do substitutes for proteins, carbs, veggies or fruits if I need to.

I JUST NEED A MINDSET SHIFT. I still love BODI, but sometimes it just becomes repetitive. So cheers to day one!!

Welcome to 2024 :: Cultivating Aliveness

 Welcome to 2024 ::  Cultivating Aliveness

2023 brought A LOT of growth for our family and various challenges (again a normal year for us): 

• Mark began his podcast "Mental Health and Ministry" and has interviewed several people. It has been life-giving for him and frankly he's really, really good at it. He discusses depression in ministry and how to support someone who is struggling. 

• Kara completed one year with Cincinnati Children's in June with pioneering the Moving Beyond Depression program working with postpartum mothers and mothers of 0-3 year olds with maternal depression. It has been exciting and exhausting and she did put herself to the side along the way. Her self-care has had good rhythms and not so good rhythms. In the end, she is ready for a recalibration of serious magnitude and to pursue vitality.

• Ian began 9th grade and began playing soccer last spring FOR THE FIRST TIME, ran Cross Country again and in his free time enjoys playing computer games, at one point playing chess, rapping songs and working out. He did start a McDonald's job in the summer and did really well, but he learned that working in fast-food is not where he wants to be, but it really helped him grow as a person. "People are mean mom!" "Yes, yes they can be," I agreed.

• Elijah began 5th grade, remains fascinated by dinosaurs, played soccer again and specifically Goalie position this past Fall, and enjoys playing Roblox, Fortnite and Nitro Typing in his free time.

• Katie is 8 years old now, still loves to cuddle in your face, bait Ivy into take her raw-hides so she can grab them back and continues to love car rides.

• Ivy is 3 and a half years old and plays like a puppy with zoomy fits and then long naps. She still sits like a princess and growls like a bear. She is remains submissive but her growl scares things away.

• We are very grateful for God’s continued faithfulness, peace and His humor. We have seen so much growth in both of our boys and in ourselves. We look forward to see how His hand works this year. Much Love to you! 

• The Messmores