Dear Kid,

I’m not going to the gym today. My ligaments wanted a day off. You know how it goes. The tendons hear the ligaments have a day off and the next thing you know everyone is whining. In no time at all, only three eyelashes and my left ear were willing to work out, so I’m taking the day off.

Now you know.

It’s easy to decide to take a day off from the gym. As long as I get my little self back there tomorrow there really won’t be any consequences. One could argue that it will actually be good for me to take a day off. (Unfortunately, one would be in for a silly argument because it’s not like I train all that hard.)

There are other activities that are easy to take a break from. Like deciding not to go out to eat every weekend, or choosing not to have coffee every day (yeah, ok, that’s pretty funny), or  opting not to text during dinner. Other things have much bigger consequences. Like skipping work or deciding not to go to class because you don’t feel like it.

Sometimes, taking a day off is a honkin’ big mistake. Like skipping coffee when you are addicted to morning caffeine, skipping obligations can cause a pretty nasty headache.

When you don’t feel like going somewhere/doing something that you know you really have to do or get to, it can be hard to make yourself get moving. Snuggling under the covers for oh, just another 10 or 12 hours can seem like a mighty fine idea. And just once won’t hurt, right?

Except that it will. Maybe it will impact your paycheck. Maybe you’ll miss the key lecture that will make up 80% of the midterm. Maybe not being there will tarnish your reputation. Or something will happen that you could have prevented. Or something won’t happen that you could have started. There are always ripples.

And skipping a planned workout can lead to a second skipped workout. So if you’ll excuse me for a moment, I have to go grab my gym bag. My ligaments need a Strong Talking To about where we’re going after work today.

Love, Mom