Well we’re through week 5 of the #last90days challenge with @msrachelhollis and the @starttodaybrand team, and this was my best week yet! I’ve come close to hitting my Five to Thrive each day, but more importantly, this week’s theme really hit home for me.

Week 5 was all about fear – what we’re fearful of and how we’re going to overcome it. I’ve made a commitment in my life to only make decisions from a place of love and not from a place of fear, but this past week I realized I was actually choosing to not do something new because of fear.

What’s that thing you might ask? Well, it’s actually two things but they’re both tied to me making my physical and mental health a priority.

My first fear was our running stroller. I know, who’s afraid of a running stroller, you ask? This kid. More specifically, I was fearful that I’d get the kids packed up, drive to our favorite trail, get them out of the car, and only then realize that I couldn’t figure out how to get the wheel back on the stroller.

Sounds simple, I know, but baby jogging strollers are a labyrinth of hinges and pulls and the tire requires lots of spinning of do-dats and whatcha-ma-call-its in order to get the tire seated correctly. But friends, here’s the thing. Once I gave myself the gift of time to play around with the stroller at home, I got confident enough that I could do it all again at the park. And worst-case scenario? I’d find either a cyclist (the stroller’s wheels are very bicycle-esque) or a fellow mama runner, and everything would be okay. Or worst-worst-case scenario? We head back home, I watch some YouTube videos, and we try again the next day. I’m nothing if not persistent.

And how’d it go? It was great! I got the stroller back together (not without a little difficulty, but I got there in the end!) and loved getting into nature with our boys. Baby brother slept, big brother pointed out leaves for me to hand him, and together we covered 2 very fun miles. I’m so grateful to have had that experience with them and not to have robbed us of it because of fear.

Fear #1 – faced!

And my second fear? Well, that has to do with these two sweet babies that have completely stolen my heart. We’ve been lucky enough for 2 years to have family visit from out-of-town at least once a month, so hubs and I have gotten date nights in fairly regularly. But recently we decided to make date nights a more regular thing, so this past week we both interviewed a new sitter (and she rocks!) and I signed up for a membership at our local Gold’s Gym (who has childcare for both boys – winning!).

The fear I tackled there was trusting someone, other than family, to care for our boys. And here’s the thing, I show up as an even better mom for them when I have time to connect with their dad on date nights and when I take time to move my body each day. I love running with them, but it’s such a gift to get to work out, be around other adults, and not need to me on “mom mode” the entirety of the day. That little 45 minute me-time goes a long way in making me a patient mama.

After all, you can’t pour from an empty vessel. You have to take care of yourself first in order to pour into others.

So, fear #2 – bested!

Here we are, cruising into week 6 and I’m excited for all that’s to come in the last two months of the challenge. If you’re feeling like you want to give it a go, hop right in. After all, their whole motto is about starting today!