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So I did a thing yesterday…

Sharing this in case it helps someone especially (single / solo) parents with small kids

So… yesterday I did a thing… A thing I’ve been wanting to do for a while but couldn’t figure out how to… I participated in my first Park Run - and it was awesome! 

I’ve been running for a while now… so that wasn’t an issue.

I could see that somehow this goal of participating was achievable. Park Run is at 8am right next to the netball courts where my daughter plays at 8:30am. The issue that I was stuck on was “What was I going to do with my 2 beautiful children for 30 minutes while I ran?” 

I would literally stand there and watch the last of the runners straggle in from their 5km while my daughter’s game was starting, wishing I was one of them.
I’d reviewed what I thought my options were…

• Take the kids with me (whilst an option … anyone who has ever exercised with small kids in tow knows you’re really only getting in a 65% hit if you’re lucky… their ability to make the 5km was extremely questionable… my 4 year old son has never been the “sit still in a pram” type of kid… and we wouldn’t have made it back in time for my daughter’s netball game) 

• Leave the kids in the park for half an hour while I ran (not really an option although it might make me run faster)

• Get a babysitter to watch my kids play in the park for half an hour while I ran (too short a shift for any local teenager on a Saturday morning)

• Ask the netball parents if anyone would be interested in turning up half an hour early to watch my kids play (the group message that I sent to parents understandably received “crickets” - I mean who wants to wrangle kids out of bed, struggle to get them ready and leave the house earlier than they need to on a Saturday morning?… I totally get it!)

Then on Friday night I had a conversation with another single parent who gave me a fresh perspective… “Why don’t you ask one of the netball parents if you can drop the kids at their house a little early, go to Park Run, they drive the kids to the game and you meet them there after the run for your daughter’s game?” 

The solution was so simple that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it before. 

So early Saturday morning I reached out to a beautiful netball mum who was more than happy to help and I smashed out my first ever Park Run, meeting some cool, positive new people in the process and made it in time to see my daughter’s netball game.

Here are my learnings… 

1. Our thoughts are only thoughts. They are not necessarily the reality of our situation. Once we become aware of this (especially negative ones) we can catch and question them to open a new reality.

2. If you’re stuck on something that might be achievable, reach out to someone who’s been there / done that - they might have a fresh perspective / point of view that you haven’t previously thought of which could unlock something for you.

3. It’s OK to ask for and receive help… but if you can make it a little easier for the helper you’re more likely to get the outcome you’re looking for.

4. Don’t be afraid to give things a go - especially if it’s something you’ve been thinking about for a while and it’s going to make life better. Don’t worry about how good you think you are at it if it’s going to be fun.

Thank you village for your advice, help, support and motivation. You’re awesome!

Movement has been a powerful circuit breaker in dealing with the darkness caused my grief. Click here to see more circuit breakers.