5 minutes in, on the high point of the incline …I am about to die

So the hubs I and joined a gym last week. He wants to get stronger for rock climbing (all I can think about is James Franco in 127 Hours, but the husband says he never climbs alone so I have nothing to worry about), and I need exercise to be happy and healthy, and it really is a great way to relive stress. I’m excited for Spring and Summer so I can start doing things outside. Prospect Park is beautiful (it's like Brooklyn's own Central Park). Anyways,  the gym is near his office on the Lower East Side and they offer an employee discount. It’s a great price and great location. Plus they have Zumba classes! #winning

I finally went on Monday. I haven’t worked out in a gym in a few months and although I’ve walked A LOT since moving here, I haven’t had a good /drenched-in-sweat-at the-end-of-it workout in a while. So off I went, settling on an elliptical machine because all the treadmills were occupado.

I decided on an interval-timed workout. 45 minutes and a 6 (on a scale of 1-20) intensity factor.  5 minutes in, on the high point of the incline …I am about to die. I’m out of breath, have a side stitch, and am breathing so hard I bet the guy next to me thought I was having contractions. It was not pretty.

  I slowed down a little bit and grabbed a sip of water while still trying to maintain my balance and look like I knew what I was doing. 

Just when I was about to quit, I decided to lower the intensity to level 4 and work my way back up. A few minutes later I caught my breath and I moved back up to the 6th level and back to my intervals. After I got back into it and during the rest of my workout, something interesting happened.

My body remembered. My legs had an epiphany about what I was doing to them and suddenly they helped me go faster instead of turning to mush. My lungs breathed in a pattern just like I had trained them to do when I was running.

 Now the rest of my workout was no piece of cake. It was difficult, but NOTHING like the first 5 minutes. Mentally, physically, emotionally I was getting stronger and was able to get used to being out of my comfort zone and not just survive this workout but to thrive until it was over!

This experience reminds me of how I feel sometimes since moving here. Anyone who has ever gone through a transition knows that it’s difficult coming to terms with being in a new place and finding those new normals like I mentioned in my last post. Just like it did in my workout, it takes time to get acclimated to new situations. It can make you feel defeated and can make you want to quit and give up. DON’T. It will get easier. Your body and mind and spirit will become accustomed to this new great life that God has planned for you.

I left the gym that day happy with endorphins but also happy because I realized that although there may be setbacks and days where I have to “go back to Level 4” and work my way back up to getting accustomed to living here, each day is one where I get to spend time in this beautiful city, with my wonderful husband, giving praise to the One who brought the two of us together.

This is one of my favorite songs from the band Superchick, it’s one of my go to songs when I’m stuck in my five minutes of defeat.

This is my brand new day in the light

Troubles rising up on the left and the right

I keep my eyes fixed on where I want to go

The rest will follow

And this is my prayer without ceasing the negative releasing

And as I rise above my burden is easing

A resolution to be content...

Well I’m officially getting back into the blogosphere. I must say that I am excited that I do not have to analyze my blog, code it (a tedious/ yet colorful process), or use it to supplement my master’s thesis. Yeah, none of that. This is just a blog about finding my way as a newlywed, and finding my way around New York City, along with 8.2 million other people.

            These past two months have been filled with all kinds of emotions, but most of all happiness that my husband and I, after spending two and half years, mostly separated by states or even by oceans, are finally able to settle into our Brooklyn apartment to begin this new chapter of our lives together.

 I’m sure I will write a future blog  post on long-distance relationships, but for now I will just say that true love is worth waiting for and it’s worth fighting for. Some days are easier than others, and at least for me there was always a hole in my heart when I wasn’t with the one I loved. (More on this later)

Being a newlywed in a new city has its challenges. I’m lucky that I got to visit the area while my husband and I were dating. The first few times I visited him, I HATED it. Who can hate New York City you may wonder?  Well “hate” is probably a strong word, but I guess I just saw New York City as somewhere to visit, instead of somewhere to live. This brings me back to my previous point. Love is worth waiting for and it’s worth fighting for. I knew I had prayed for the right guy to come into my life and that it was nothing short of God’s handiwork that we ended up together in the same place, on the same night, during a summer he was supposed to be in California and I was supposed to be in Spain.

We knew before he moved to New York that we wanted to get married and I knew that I wanted to be with him; wherever that may be. After all, home is where the heart is, and my heart belongs with my husband.

Now this isn’t to say that I’m always fully embracing our new city and new life. I admit working on job applications and not hearing anything back is very frustrating. I miss my parents, my friends, my church family, the kids I babysat for, and of course my dogs! 

I’m learning all sorts of new ways of doing things.  We sold my car when we moved up here so I take the subway and walk everywhere. I love walking but sometimes when I’m carrying home four big bags of groceries I wish I had my car; or on a day like today when it’s pouring down rain. Not regular rain, but horizontal rain, it really makes an umbrella ineffective.

We don’t have a laundry unit in our apartment so when we do laundry (and I mean do laundry, not the Monica & Chandler “do laundry”) we have to take it down the street to the laundromat  Like I said - finding a new normal, which I’m sure I will get used to.

A few days ago, I was just not in a good mood; every little thing was bothering me. I started playing that “what if” game and thinking about how much I wished we could live somewhere else - somewhere I could get a job, where doing laundry was easier, where we were closer to loved ones. As my husband and I went to separate rooms to take a breather , I pulled out a book, “Resolution for Women” by Priscilla Shirer.

As I opened the first page, I saw a list. The book covers 13 resolutions. The first one?

A Resolution To Be Content

I do solemnly resolve to embrace my current season of life, and will maximize my time in it. I will resist the urge to hurry through or circumvent any portion of my journey but will live with a spirit of contentment.

What a wonderful reminder to embrace life to its fullest and that God will never give you anything you can’t handle. If God brought you to it, He will see you through it.