Never Say Never

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I just Googled this blog post title to try and find an appropriate photo to go with it. You know what I found? A boat load of Justin Beiber. Who knew? Apparently I share the creative genius of a prepubescent pop prince.

Anyhoo. I have ALWAYS said Never.

I’ll Never get married.

I’ll Never have children.

I’ll Never live far away from my family again.

I’ll Never work in a job that means working after hours and weekends.

You know what? I did it all. I did it all and more. You want to know something else? I’m pretty damn happy. The marriage …. as a kid who saw most of her family get divorced I wondered why the hell anyone would bother. Since then quite a lot of them have gotten remarried. Happily. And I grew up. And I met Paul. It was just right.

The kids. I’m not sure where this Never started, but once I started preaching it I got kind of stubborn about it. I do have a vague early childhood memory of seeing a horse give birth, and making the connection that mummies push babies out of their bodies. And if babies had legs like that foal then NO WAY was I going to have babies. Then in my early teens I was told that I may never be able to have babies, and I used this Never as a protective barrier against the world, the unknown. Again, I grew up. I wanted to have a family. So I did. I am SO grateful that it turned out to be so much easier than we thought, too.

Living away from family. Paul and I are from opposite ends of the long stretch of metropolitan Adelaide. My parents live about 30kms and an hour away. It’s far, but it’s not THAT far. We make it work. I love where we live now, it’s just beautiful, surrounded by gum trees and koalas (and the odd ‘roo!) in the backyard. We’re making our own life, our own family, and I wouldn’t change a thing… unless that thing was to somehow crinkle up the Adelaide landscape so that the gap wasn’t quite so far.

The job. Nowhere in the shiny education degree brochure did it mention the work load, never ending drain on your head and heart, not to mention bank balance (did you know teachers buy most of their own resources?). Somehow, somewhere along the way my passion for this thing they call teaching took over, and the extra work load, the huge responsibility, it all became part and parcel of something that I love.

Four HUGE Nevers. Life changing decisions that have brought me, slowly but surely, to where I am and who I am today. Which brings me to one more. One more MUCH less important and MUCH less life changing… I have also said that I’d never pay for fitness again. No personal trainers, no treadmills, and NO GYMS.

Yep. I totally just joined a gym.

It was so cheap! So close to home! With a great time table!

I’m not kidding myself, or you, dear readers. I’m not about to become a gym junkie and hit the weights room every day. I am going to move my body more and get healthy. Or at the very least, healthier.

Have you ever said Never? Then changed your mind?