Walking on Wednesday - I am hardcore! Are you?

I am! I am hardcore!
Ok, maybe not to the runners, marathoners, tri-athletes. 
But I am hardcore - and so are you if you think about it.

For me, it hit me as I was walking in the rain last week. I know I have bragged about walking in the rain before, but that was nothing compared to the rain last week. It had been raining all the night before, all morning, and there were rivers of water running down the street and large puddles everywhere. The rain wasn't a drizzle, it was steadily raining.

My clothes,
after walking in the rain.

But I went for a walk anyways. The old me would have stayed in and missed a day of walking. But the hardcore me got my hoodie and my old walking shoes (didn't want to get my new ones wet and dirty), and headed out to get wet walking.

The bottoms of my pants were so wet when I got back, I took my clothes off and left them on the steps. And I couldn't see because my glasses had drops all over them and were fogging up. (Yes, I took the picture for this blog, wearing no pants, standing on my steps outdoors. Does that mean I am a hardcore blogger? Well, almost, but that is another blog.)

I even had to move her bed to near
where I work so she didn't
have to rest on the bare floor.
She didn't seem to mind either,
poor thing

To make it tougher, I didn't have my walking partner, LadyJ. She had been not feeling up to par last week. So much so that she couldn't go for walks with me. She hurt her back or one of her muscles, we aren't sure, but the vet had her on 'bed-rest', if that is possible for a dog. She had to stay in, and stay resting. 

You might be reading this and saying, 'so what?' or 'big flipping deal'. And you are right. Kind of.

You see, I realized on my walks last week, all alone, that these walks were difficult for different reasons that I normally struggle with. These walks, without my walking buddy, were really completely about ME. 
Just me.

That thought process is really quite foreign to me, and probably any mother out there. You see, for the past 19 years, nothing has been about just me. It has been about my husband, our kids, our family - never about me by myself. 

Yes, even my walks. I know I SAID they were about me, but I was walking for other reasons too. 

~Walks are great for dogs, and she is my baby, so it was good for her. Helping her was part of my motivation.
~I was getting in shape so I could keep up with my kids, and so they wouldn't have to take care of me as I got older. 
~I was sticking to my goals to show my kids that you can do anything if you make up your mind to do it. My actions were teaching my family.

But last week - no walking buddy, steady rain and puddles, kids and hubby at school or work. There was no one else. It was only me. It was a bit scary at first, but I was still out there walking. In terrible weather! I even RAN up that steep hill. I was hardcore! 

It felt great. It was tough! That hardcore day - now I have that to keep me going. Let me tell you I have had some tough days this week too, even tho my walking partner is back with me. If I could do it that day, then what's a little snow at the end of April, with 30-40 mile per hour winds? (Its really tough, that's what it is...)

I would love to see this little guy
on one of my walks!

But I did it, and I am still doing it. And perhaps I did it with those others in mind too.... 

They would be proud of their mom, and realize she didn't give in to a little rain, a little snow. She didn't let going it alone stop her. That is a good lesson, right? 

So do I do it just for me? No, really I never do. And that makes me hardcore.  That I walk everyday too, that adds to it. When I make the 10th Toekini in three days and finish my mosaics, that adds to it too. We can all find things that make us hardcore. 

What does hardcore mean? It means we are strong, we are determined. We do not give up. 
We are all hardcore, in many aspects in our lives. That is what keeps us going. 

How are YOU hardcore?