Since December, I’ve been getting exercise every day on a rowing machine in my basement, which came from a Black Friday sale at Best Buy. I hadn’t expected to gain a lot of fitness from it because, for several years, I had been rowing on the river four or five times a week, when the weather was good, so I thought it would be about the same.

Then I started going faster on it, although my workouts didn’t feel more difficult, and my husband said I was looking more fit. There is a weekly online race, which gives me a good opportunity to measure my progress. I definitely have a little more “umph” than I had last year. Putting regular exercise into my daily schedule was more of an improvement than I expected. That is often what results from better habits!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.