Anticipation

After we received the announcement that we'd been awarded one of the two team placements for the Mind + Body / Miramont Lifestyle Project Purpose (or P2) - life took on a new form of chaos.

When we had to pick out names for each kiddo, we thought that was tough. Really, we had no idea. Then we only had to choose a name for either a girl or boy, and we had several months to do it.

For P2, we had only three days we had to pick out one name that met all of our criteria - and there were no do-overs like middle names. We decided that our team name had to

• Be true to the character of who we are have been, and want to be.
• Be clever, catchy and descriptive without being embarrassing either personally or professionally.
• Be timeless both in duration and frequency of use.
• Be uniquely common.
• And lastly, it needed to look good in print, on the 'net and in other published formats.

For two and a half days I was driven to come up with a name other than 'Team Olson' and I drove the K nuts asking him if he liked 'this' name or 'that'.

Not only did we have to come up with a team name but we also had to decide what to wear in the team photo, meet with a trainer and find our initial measurements and assessments and also maintain our usually chaotic schedule.

While chatting the night before we were to meet with Alicia, Mind + Body's Editor, I sighed deeply and asked K if our schedule could be any more chaotic.

"Nope. I like that as a name though."

And thusly our team had a name: 'House of Chaos'. It's an organized chaos, but chaos nonetheless.

In January K started working out with a trainer and going to the gym on a regular basis. Add to that two full time jobs, two active kids, Cub Scouts, taekwondo, ballet, Girl Scouts, volunteering and an active social life balanced with a houseful of activities, chores, and pets - well, there isn't a lot of time in my schedule for things like exercise.

But we are by no means unique. There are, in fact, lots of houses of chaos that in their own way make it through the day.

It's one of the commonalities that many of my friends and I share - that the days are marked not by how bored we were, but instead by how much remains on our ToDo lists even as we are collapsing into bed and feeling the rush of being behind in what needs to be accomplished the next day while the release of sleep hasn't even begun.

After that first flurry of activity the waiting began. Anticipation built. Nervous energies and second-guessing about what we were embarking on began to grow.

Unlike any other opportunity I've undertaken I mentioned this one to few people - I was too scared that it wasn't real, that M+B would chose to go with a different team and I didn't want to experience that disappointment or the need to explain why we weren't participating in P2.

It's taking forever for July 11th, the day the publication is to be released to arrive. As the day draws near - I've come to the realization that this is going to HURT if I don't get out and move before we met with the trainer. After a few panic attacks, I gathered what 'gear' I had and booked it to the gym waving 'Later' to K and kids for what was to be the first step towards a new path.

Oh, Baby.

What am I in for?