Where I was 3 years ago

You know the Facebook “memories” that pop up and ask you if you want to share again? I always ignore them. I share sparingly on my personal page any way so sharing of memories doesn’t fit for me, most of my Facebook activity happens on my Linda on the Go page .

However, last week I was inspired to share a Facebook memory for the first time. This memory reminded me of a turning point for my husband and I in terms of putting our needs at the top of the list … something that has been very important in our journey. This memory reminded me of where I was and what I was doing 3 years ago …

What was I doing 3 years ago?

I was on a family holiday in Sabah, Borneo as part of a travel blogging role I had with Expedia. My girls were aged 5ys, 2.5yrs and 13 months at the time. Most of this 10 day trip was about family experiences – markets, resort fun, orangutans and cultural villages but 2 days of it was 100% dedicated to an adventure for my husband and I. We wanted to climb Mount Kinabalu which is no simple feat.

Why was this a defining moment for us?

At the time I suggested we climb Mount Kinabalu neither of us were getting any regular exercise, neither of us were doing a good job meeting our personal needs in life, and we were both feeling overwhelmed by life as parents of 3 young children. Having honeymooned in Nepal we understood the challenges of hiking at altitude and the importance of our fitness.

My husband’s first response was “no way” because he couldn’t see how we could go from having no time or space for fitness, to having enough to time and space to get fit and strong in quite a short period of time. My response was “we need to say YES to this opportunity. It will force us to find a way, to make our needs count in the way our family life happens”.

So we said YES and were forced to put our needs above the daily juggle of life with three kids.

How did we find time to get fit?

1. we made a schedule – planned times that each of us could get some exercise and accepted that some other things had to be put to the side for a few months
2. we blended life and training – for example I would walk to the fruit & vegetable shop with a big back pack, do the shopping (heavy), and then walk the long way home over the railway bridge. I would do a few sets up and over the railway stairs (pretending it was a mountain) before returning home
3. I hired a personal trainer for 10 weeks to come to my home one day a week when my baby was sleeping.

Where were our kids for 2 days while we climbed the mountain?

This was very challenging for me. Leaving my 3 kids, in a foreign country, for 2 days while I would be 100% uncontactable. To make this possible we brought a good friend, who is also the founder of Mayday Mummy, with us to care for the girls at the hotel while we were away. Even though I knew my girls were in very good hands this was a very emotional experience for me.

Did we succeed?

We did. You can all about the actual climb in this blog post and in my article for Expedia. I suffered from altitude sickness during the climb so I was very grateful to actually be able to summit.

I am wondering … is there something in your life, an opportunity, that you could say YES to that would help you step up and really make your own needs a greater priority?

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