Me, the big bear and the Go Diego Go! bike

"How about you and I go for a walk tomorrow morning? I walk and you ride."

A big smile breaks across big bear's face. 

Hubby and I have been struggling since big bear started getting up early - anywhere from 2 am to 5 am, eager to start the day. 

"I want to play Mommy!"

"Good grief big bear, please go back to bed!"

With bloodshot eyes and sizable pillows under my eyes, I stumbled to Chapters Indigo at lunch to buy the OK to Wake clock that glows green at the agreed time when the big bear can get out of bed. Thankfully it works - mostly. Hubby and I are lucky if we can get the big bear to sleep in until 6:30 am; typically he is ready to go at 5:30 no matter what time he goes to bed.

Then last weekend I had an epiphany. Since big bear is ready to move at an early hour, why the heck don't we go do something together?

The one thing that I miss the most from my pre-child days is starting the day with a workout. Running, walking or cycling in the morning was a great way to start the day. It injected my morning with energy and it was a great feeling knowing that I didn't have to go back out at the end of the day. 

Most friends can't imagine working out in the morning. However, I feel the same way about working out in the evening.  I just don't have the drive to do it at the end of a long, busy day.

Once the little bears arrived, morning workouts no longer fit into the morning schedule. I currently get out of bed at 5:15 on a weekday and I'm physically unable to get up any earlier. So since the arrival of the bears, I'm stuck exercising after work, after family time, and after the kids go to bed. 

So, on Sunday morning my big bear quietly tip-toed to my bedside and asked if we were going for a walk. I nodded slowly and moved to an upright position. I grabbed my clothes laid out the night before; we left my sleeping hubby and little bear.

We both changed from our pajamas to our clothes. I grabbed a snack, water and Kleenex and headed outside to put our shoes on. I quietly fetched his helmet and bike from the garage and off we went.

We talked as we explored the streets and houses of the less explored parts of our neighbourhood. He marveled at Toronto's skyline and I showed him the Niagara escarpment. We stopped by a playground he hadn't seen before.

I smiled thinking at how great it felt to be outside moving in the morning while so many people are sleeping. It was awesome to be sharing this moment with my son. And I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of this earlier!

For our first outing, we walked, talked and cycled for 2 hours and another hour the following day. Last Sunday we overdid it with a three hour jaunt, but we discovered a few shortcuts and watched the fisherman fishing at the Oakville harbor.

Ah, life is good. I'm exercising in the morning again and now I have company!