Fitzpatrick Family Fitness

If there’s ever been a better reason to stick around for a long...long...time, I’ve yet to see one. These kids give me grey hairs and keep me young at the same time. They tire me out but give me the energy of a 40 year old There is no right time to have kids...20’s, 30’s, 40’s...but I’m tapping out at 53 (sorry Angele). ... There IS a right time to ensure I can be there for her wedding, and that’s today. Every day. I’ll never try to force or convince someone to take care of themselves, but hopefully we are doing our job by making you think that it is possible...and that there is a reason bigger than yourself. Hopefully that wasn’t too heavy for a Tuesday Night Come join us....the more the merrier Peace Photo Cred: Antonia Giroux Photography

I know a lot of you think I’m insane for drinking my veggies each morning. But this is what works for me. Considering I used to do a drive-thru each AM with a Hash Brown and a Bacon and Egg sandwich, I think I’m coming out ahead. The only one that really seem upset is my former Blood Pressure pharmaceutical company!... I like efficient. It’s all I can do in the AM to get the kids a healthy breaky, get them dressed and out the door on time. Otherwise, I know I would either skip it and binge later on an office donut or two, hit up the drive-thru...or resort to a bagel out of frustration. This isn’t for everyone, but we’ve helped far too many people for me to stop now! Besides, no one seems to be complaining about a PB & Chocolate breakfast these days. Leading by example! #veggiesmost

I wouldn’t expect most people to know what this past week was. There’s kind of a lot going on in the world right now This happened to be National Infertility Awareness Week. It holds some incredible emotions for us each year, and these two little kids are right at the top. We will tell the entire story in a much more in depth post one day, but after multiple miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, 6 Egg Retrievals, 23 Embryos Transfered, and two little Miracle Kids, we simply fe...el that this is another chance for us to let others know that they are not alone in their struggles. Part of what we do as health and wellness mentors is step out of our comfort zone to tell our story. Everyone has a story. Everyone has a circumstance that has played a role in "WHO" they are. We have never presumed to understand another persons situation, but we have always been an open book with those who have gone through the grueling process of Fertility Treatments. We at least know the highs and lows involved, and can listen with empathy. So this week we always feel it's our duty to share this chapter in our book, in the hopes of letting someone else know they are normal. They are simply another of us in the "1 in 8" category. 1 in 8 who might be struggling on the inside, but are definitely not alone. #niaw #startasking #youarenotalone

A few things finally set it this morning. 1. Man I sure need some sun on this old face 2. It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you just TRUST THE PROCESS... 3. Even dudes can get their dance on in the basement and have some fun with our new program! 4. I’ve lost 10 pounds in the last 6 weeks...eating as much as I want, and simply tracking it. 5. I don’t have to exercise every day to happily lose weight 6. It’s going to be a ton of fun to do this with an entire crew of people next month, all supporting each other. Couldn’t come at a better time!

What Angèle and I do as our online job can be confusing for people. I get that. How do you earn an income from being so damned positive all the time? But that still doesn’t stop people from throwing shade on it. (I’m 53...did I use that phrase correctly?!?) -They have no idea I currently work 3 jobs to pay for what we have... -They have no idea what our own parents had to do to get to where they are -They have no idea of the daily struggles we've gone through that make us stronger than we would have been without them When people who don't know you make negative comments, it's a waste of energy to get upset. It truly is. I've used this quote before and it really does fit: "Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die" But just for shits and giggles I thought I would explain the situation because it's actually a great lesson for everyone. My grandfather actually worked in a Coal Mine. True story. We joke a lot about what we do being hard work, but not coal mine type hard work. In 1937, seven years before he died in WWII serving our country, Lambert Fitzpatrick worked in a coal mine. Not exactly an "Old Money" kind of job. My Opa didn't fair much better. When he moved from Holland with his 8 kids, he eventually was able to land a job as a Janitor for the local School District in Grande Prairie until he died of Cancer in 1973. He wasn't exactly a Wall Street tycoon either. Angèles dad was born in Trinidad, and grew up working barefoot on a sugar cane plantation. He eventually moved to Canada and went to school to become a Paramedic in Toronto...in the worst part of town. I'm guessing there is no hidden Family Fortune or estate in Rosedale in his will either. What these people did was make the most of their situation. They worked their asses off to give the best they could to their kids. The didn't complain about how great other people had it. They didn't mock their fancy cars and expensive houses. If anything, it fueled them to work harder. Perhaps that's one of the greatest things they have been able to pass along to us...and to me that's better than any inheritance.

After a bit of a "rough" week of online learning with the kids, we thought these words might help all the parents out there! Breathe in...breathe out.... While the stress of this past week is still fresh in our minds... It’s not always easy but..."Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become." Brooke Hampton

When my brother and I started Bark & Fitz, it was all on us. No team to help get us started. No team to tell us all the mistakes THEY had made. No team to brainstorm ideas to increase revenues. You get the picture.... We made over $200,000 worth of mistakes... in just our first year! Rent. Staff. Insurance. Inventory. Lawyers...all on us. That’s one of the reasons our new gig makes us smile so much. No rent. No Inventory. No Staff schedules. No lawyers! All taken care of for us! We can own our own business but still take a ton of vacations! We managed to go get away at least 4 times last year by ourselves as well as with our team...and MAN, when we were gone did our TEAM ever step up! We still managed to check in with our clients and coaches, but knowing that there was an army of teammates ensuring that things ran smoothly really was amazing! I still have a soft spot for all our local business, and do what I can to support them, but you will never convince me that there is only ONE WAY to do business anymore. To each his own...but the older and wiser 53 year old me chooses this! I choose to collaborate, share and lock arms with those on the same path as us, as we are definitely stronger together!

Personal WELLNESS and FITNESS means different things to different people. Some people are focused on the gym...and other people have kids . By no means are we naive or narcissistic enough to think that OUR WAY is the ONLY WAY. One of the best things we do as Wellness coaches is purely act as a guide in this process. ... I've been involved in three successful businesses and the one main thing they all had in common is the focus on making OTHERS BETTER. Whether you are a teacher, a business owner or a wellness coach mentor...the minute you stop leading with your heart is the minute you lose your identity.

We had a serendipitous moment today when we were blessed with a light dusting of snow, and all 4 of our recesses aligned Perspective can be really hard during a Pandemic and a State of Emergency, but life could definitely be much worse. You can let life pass you by over the next few months (yes, I said months), or you can live the shit out of as best you can. ... We are working very hard on the latter...