For those of you who know me, whether through my blog, or fitness videos, or through Beachbody Coaching, I have six kids; aged 6-18. Our oldest son KC is in college, and our youngest son Bradley is in kindergarten. There is a broad spectrum of parenting styles and roles that I play. The longer I’m a mom and the older I get, the more I realize there is so much to learn to be the kind of woman, wife, mother, friend, follower of Christ that I strive deep in my heart to be. The older my kids get, the more I want to really drive home all the points I’ve brought them up with, and the more I realize they need a different style of parenting. Less instructing, more mentoring, more listening. Less telling them WHAT to do, and more providing guidance as they try out their own decision making skills. HONESTLY: this is SO difficult to do!!!!

When they were little I could help solve their problems and point out to them what God desires to teach them in that situation and they TOTALLY listened. They believed because they believed in me, and I was their mommy, and I explained it in a way that made sense to them. God was real to them because I showed Him to them as we walked through our days, and by loving Him openly. Life and other kids were mean to them at times, but home was a safe haven.

And then they grew up. And their life experiences were different than my life experiences. Their struggles were struggles that I couldn’t relate to because my teenage struggles were completely different. We had been on the same life road together, holding hands, learning and growing together; and somehow as they got older, they began to take their own road – a “Private Road” and my only access to this new road is by invitation by “the owner” only. Was our road together really as short as that?  As they travel this new road, I can only pray they invite God to go this leg with them, but now solely trust Him to relentlessly pursue them just as He pursued me. It’s now on my kids to take the tools they’d been raised with and try to awkwardly use them themselves, more and more with each year. Tools that at times felt too heavy to use for their small, inexperienced hands but that only provide useful the more they practice.

As I had to let go and let God become more real to them (I still am not really great at this, truth be told), I beat myself up at times; “Did I say enough?” “Should I have said it differently?” “Did I explain it in a way that made sense to their brain?” “Was I a good example to them?” “Did I show God’s attributes properly so they too will desire to follow Him?” Inwardly I am tough on myself. Not because I think I’m going to be that one human who will be perfect (shudder at the pride of that thought) but as much as it depends on me, my hearts desire is to be a good example of what I believe, Who I believe in, and what Christ taught, with His help. But its a weird thing to realize that my kids who are as close to my own flesh as can be (even those who don’t share my genes) are going to make choices and walk paths that are foreign to me, and even paths I wouldn’t want them to take….as they find out who they are – APART FROM ME. gulp.

Maybe you read that and say “Duh” and I might have even thought that when they (and I) were younger.  However, now that its here, and they are becoming their own people (whom I love dearly) I am learning that my role has changed dramatically in their lives – I need to shut my mouth much more than I ever had to when they were little, pray fervently, and allow them to fail if they must to find out who they were designed to be, always providing the safe haven of home and “Mom” no matter where their path takes them, and trusting God to be God to them right where they’re at. To provide counsel when they ask. To love them unconditionally. To go back to BEING an example in deed, and not as much instructional word as in the little kid days.

To just “work on my assignment”, and trust God to provide the lessons.

For all of us.

In Relentless Pursuit of Excellence,

TRACI

Its hard to believe its February, but here it is February 7th! I spent much of January sick, which is surprising considering how healthy the Morrow family is, but we also have 8 people heading out into the work place, and four different schools, so not a complete shock considering the germs we track home! That being said, I started P90X2 in January, got three days in and ended up sick. I really gave my body the rest it was asking for and took the three weeks off from working out. NOT from eating clean, but from workouts. And here I am, healthy again, well rested, and started back in again on P90X2.

Its interesting to be doing this program for the first time at 41. When P90X came out I was 34 and though I’ve continued faithfully in my workouts over the years, I find myself nervous again. I dont know why….probably just the perfectionist and worry-wart in me. I felt the same way with the X when I first started. I remembering telling Tony how nervous I was to start.  I wondered if I could do the moves he had created, and nearly 8 years later I find myself wondering the very same thing.

I work out live with Tony from time to time and LOVE how his fitness has progressed over the years. Just four workouts in, my nerves are settling and I’m LOVING the whole feel of this program. It just further confirms just why he truly is America’s Trainer – or according to P90X2 Balance and Power the “King of Fitness”.   He pays attention to detail, he pushes himself out of his comfort zone, and consequently we go along for the ride. There is a lot of attention to recovery and working the knots and kinks out of your muscle, which is such a nice bonus, and perhaps the very core of the entire program: the body’s recovery. If you are considering purchasing this workout system, I HIGHLY recommend getting the Rumble Roller rather than the plain foam roller! Its a *dream* if you have aches and pains and soreness and really digs into those spots. Tony teaches you how to use it in each of the videos and I keep an additional rumble roller in our bedroom so I can rumble roll out my sore muscles in the evening. My husband KC and I are addicted to it! Our carpet looks so funny with the little marks the roller leaves – evidence of the extra attention we get to give to our aches and “hot spots”.

I recommend getting a good pair of shoes for the jumping. The older I get I find myself really paying attention to those details that I never gave much thought to in my 20′s and 30′s.  The very details that will enable me to work out well into my 70′s and hopefully 80′s: protecting my joints. Tony is now 53 years old and the reason he is in such incredible shape is because he pays very close attention to the details that take care of spine, joints, tendons, etc. So again – he leads the way in the “how to’s” for those of us lucky enough to follow along in our own journeys. I like to get my shoes from Zappos.com as you can try them on at home, hop around a little to get a feel for them and send them back if its not a proper fit, free of shipping. I dont have the time or interest to drive around from store to store to find the perfect shoe, but I do have time to sit at my computer and browse quickly through cross trainers online. My favorite brands for a good cross training shoe is Adidas and Puma for my foot and pronation. But find what works for YOU.

So off I go. Follow along, and if you’d like to join me, I have a private accountability facebook group for people I’m coaching through their own program/weight loss journey. The more the merrier, and if you’d like to join me, just shoot me an email at Coach@tracimorrow.com. I hope to hear from you!

In Relentless Pursuit of Excellence!

TRACI

Up at 5 am again. I am going to need to go to bed earlier, as it was not nearly as easy to roll out of bed this morning!

Took my supps, fried KC his eggwhites before he was out the door to work, set up my living room to look like “TRACI’S GYM”, signed on to WOWY “Online Super Gym” and then pressed play. I don’t get to work out with music, as my kids are all asleep down the hall, and I have to keep the volume VERY low and do all my hopping, jumping, grunting, and straining as quietly as possible.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Plyometrics!! It works your legs something fierce, but all in good fun, and I love having new moves to learn. One thing about ME: I am pretty competitive, so I really try to keep up not only with the girl, but with the boys. (NO ONE can keep up with Tony – every good competitor knows when they are outmatched!) Some sound advice I got from my good friend TONY HORTON before this workout: “Don’t go at it like an animal or you won’t walk tomorrow Traci”. So I started out with those intentions. That lasted about 30 seconds. I was having so much fun the time flew as I worked my body like crazy in this routine. But not beyond safety and keeping good form; just a good hard workout that ROCKS!!

The inside tip of the day (straight from Tony Horton):
“THINK CATWOMAN; NOT CRAZY WOMAN” (or man).

Soft landing is the name of the game so our knees that have recovered from the SQUAT NAZI Debbie Sieber’s Slim in 6 will not be sore again!!

I am so excited to be going through this with all of you! It’s just a CRAZY program that will whip our bodies into tip top shape come day 90. And the fun of doing it alone in your house is that you really are competing with yourself. Yes, there are those on the tape who we compete with each time, but it’s a personal best against them. And no one standing next to you to make you feel less because you can’t keep up with them. In the flesh. It’s a beautiful thing, this home fitness idea. And then we pick back up our living room and no one is the wiser to our private fitness sessions, except that our sweatshirts are starting to bulge in the arms.
I’ve got someone coming for a haircut in a few minutes and I still have yet to take a quick shower. A good hot shower sounds good for my worked body right about now!! Check back in to see if I’m able to walk tomorrow!? I’m up a for a GREAT day today, after a BLAST of a start!!

Is it tomorrow yet?????

Bring it!

***From TRACI Today, Oct. 29, 2011

Its so fun that this is documented in cyberworld for me to revisit from time to time. Its been 7 1/2 years since I completed my first round of P90X and it never gets old. I change it up from time to time, and try other programs but I will always come back to the X. Because its timeless and there is NO COMPARISON to this program or trainer. Thanks for stepping back in time with me!

In Relentless Pursuit of Excellence~
TRACI

Traci, 1988

Now we’re in our late 30′s and 40′s. Our kids are now the age we were back in the days of excess and youth. Its a weird realization to have kids the age I was when I lived in the heyday of the 80′s. My kids are far more focused than I was at their age, and far more responsible, thats for sure. Thankfully I recovered from those days of shoulder pads and pegged pants. But what has taken me back this week is a concert my husband KC and I went to to celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary. A dear friend of mine

Jason & Traci today...much tamer hair.

Look at J's awesome 80's hair!

Oct. 22, 2011

It may very well be the music that saves the memory of the 80′s, and if you feel led to grab your spouse or significant other and have a dance next to your computer as you listen & remember, be my guest!

Hard For Me To Say I’m Sorry ~Chicago, Featuring Jason Scheff

In Relentless Pursuit of Excellence,
TRACI

I personally drink this shake every day, as do my teenagers, and my elementary aged kids think its a dessert it tastes so good! Your health – in a glass. Sounds like a commercial, doesn’t it?

The tag line is:

Acts like a salad. Tastes like dessert. Totally agree.

In Relentless Pursuit of Excellence~
TRACI

From Carl’s Blog:

It’s good to be Chris Pratt. He has a regular gig as part of the winning cast of NBC’s Thursday night comedy hit Parks and Recreation. He’s co-starring with Mr. Angelina Jolie (you may know him as Brad Pitt) in the new film Moneyball. And, he is looking better than ever, thanks to Shaun T and Hip Hop Abs!

Chris was just on Conan promoting Moneyball and when Conan asked him how he got into such great shape, he launched into one of the funniest, most genuine celebrity testimonials we’ve seen for our products. Chris even demonstrates “Tilt, Tuck and Tighten” for the audience and gives Shaun T a heartfelt shout-out.

(Check out the video starting at about 3:25)