It’s been nearly a month since I last took the time to sit and write something.
Back in August, there was a bunch of stuff going on, mostly I was trying to enjoy the last summer with my son being in single digits. We managed to do quite a bit together, we went to museums, climbed mountains, went down into mines, swam in the ocean and played hours of video games together.
All of this has been and was great fun. Focussing so much on the summer meant that all of my best-laid plans for diet and fitness went out of the window.
I had managed to drop several kilos through fasting and was determined to make the changes I need to be around for my son for as long as possible. I have to confess I’m finding it very hard to get back into the right frame of mind to do what needs to be done, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
At the beginning of the summer, we had some good news; my wife had managed to get a job working for a multi-franchise motorcycle dealer in Canterbury. The salary is modest but regular. For her, it has been a massive change. She’s had to go from being a housewife of 10 years to a full-time employee, a transition that is challenging for both of us.
We decided that I should take over the role of housewife, keeping the home and looking after our 9-year-old son, while she now goes out to work.
Making this massive change in our lives has meant that I’ve had to change my priorities. I’ve quit my self-employment, and I’m now officially a stay-at-home parent. I’ve not spent much time writing on any of my blogs, and I’ve only been out to shoot a few images for a small collaborative art project I’m helping out with.
I have been doing a little voluntary work to help my wife in her new role at the motorcycle shop, although I have to confess, it has taken up quite a few hours.
Other than that my days mostly consist of getting up, making breakfast for the family, getting Karta ready for school, walking with him to school, coming home, doing the dishes, pushing the hoover around, laundry, shopping and getting the dinner ready for everyone before they come home. Pretty usual daily routine stuff.
In between all of this I’ve been sorting out some social media projects for my wife and her new job, which to be fair is quite enjoyable. It’s nice to be doing something that I enjoy, albeit for free.
Our thinking has been that by improving the visibility of the shop through their social media channels, I’ll be able to drive more customers into the shop, making it more likely for my wife to earn some good commission.
So ultimately it will benefit all of us as a family. The only caveat was that I might be able to take a demo bike for a ride now and again, it’s been far too long since I’ve ridden a decent motorcycle.
So I have my finger in that pie. I’ve had to cut back on chasing my journalistic dreams of writing about Porsche racing cars, despite being given an annual press pass to the World Endurance Championship this season.
I’ve started another blog about the great riding/driving roads of the world. So far all I’ve managed to do is a couple of posts about some fast cars to drive on those roads, but it’s something I can develop over the winter.
Then there is my photography. I do still enjoy doing this; the difference now is that I’m not pursuing it as a career. I’ve decided to be an amateur photographer, making photographs for my pleasure and a small local art project with some friends.
This brings me to the question of my health and fitness. I’ve struggled with weight-loss now for many years. This year, however, has been different.
My good friend Steve has made some fantastic gains in his fitness, you can read about it here. His hard work and dedication have been an inspiration to me. We have been chatting with each other privately on this subject for months, culminating in a visit from him back at the beginning of the summer.
We have spoken at length about his on-going fitness goals, and I’ve been inspired to follow his example. But here I am writing this and feeling like I’m a failure.
I’ve put on the weight that I lost last month, and aside from walking everywhere with Karta, I’ve not been doing much to improve my situation. I feel like I’ve had too many fingers in too many pies and lost touch with how simple it all can be.
So I suppose this is my confession. This is my way of trying to put all of the above behind me and getting back in the saddle.
I have several doctors appointments on the horizon, mostly due to high blood pressure, cholesterol levels and the fact that I am in a pre-diabetic state. All of these things can and will be counteracted by diet and fitness.
Tomorrow I will pull my finger out, simplify my outlook on life and focus on being a fit, healthy and loving husband/father.
As for the bad tooth I wrote about last month, let’s say that it’s improving and I have gleaming teeth and fragrant breath.
