Early To Bed and Early To Rise

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise."

For years I've been promising myself I would improve on this.  I've had a lot of excuses though, mostly centering around being pregnant or having a nursing baby.  So last week when I started a wellness challenge (see our family blog) I was terrified to get up early to exercise.  To be clear, getting up early is NOT part of the challenge.  As a team we decided that would be a good time to exercise together if we so chose, and I decided to try it out.  Initially I said that I would only do it a couple of times a week.  I like to sleep!  I have a baby who wakes up in the middle of the night to nurse!  So I was surprised that by Wednesday I WANTED to do it every day.  I am amazed at how wonderful it feels.  Sure it's difficult to pull myself out of bed, but it's even more difficult to squeeze a workout into my day.  That's not the best part, though.  It makes me a better woman all around.  I start my day energized and alert.  I have time for personal scripture study before my kids are all awake.  I'm in a good mood for companionship study with Jim before he heads to work.  I'm much more patient with my kids when they get up and I don't feel like I'm dragging to get our day started.  I actually feel HAPPY and MOTIVATED in the morning.  I was looking forward to a better exercise regimen and healthier eating habits when I signed up for this wellness challenge, but this optional extra is turning out to be the best part!