The Unhealthy Reality of Your Late 30s

The irony of being unhealthy in your late 30s is that it is not a heart attack. It is not even a little extra weight. Apparently, it is waking up one day with a stabbing pain in your butt for absolutely no dramatic reason.

I think I officially reached the epitome of being unhealthy this week.

Last night, my husband and I were watching a show we have gotten into after putting the kids to bed. Everything was normal. Then I stood up and felt a searing pain in my rear. It came on completely suddenly with no warning at all. At first, it was just strange. By the time we finished our usual before-bed routine, picking up the kitchen, putting a load of laundry in the dryer, feeding the animals, it was on fire.

The pain was radiating from this very specific, very weird spot in my butt. I remember thinking, what on earth is this? But we were heading to bed, so I shrugged it off and assumed it would be fine in the morning.

It was not fine in the morning.

I woke up with my first alarm and rolled over toward my husband. That is the side where the pain was. The intensity of that single movement was enough to fully wake me up. There was no dozing off while waiting for the second alarm. I could not get comfortable at all.

I tried sleeping on my back. I tried my other side. I rolled around trying to figure out what had happened to my body overnight. It had been a little sore during the night as I got up and down with Danielle, but nothing like this.

So naturally, I did what any mom does. I went straight to Doctor Google.

I narrowed it down to two possibilities. The first was sciatica. I have had sciatic nerve pain with my pregnancies, and this did not feel the same at all, so I ruled that out pretty quickly.

The second option was a bruised sit bone, or more accurately, an inflamed sac around the bone you sit on, usually caused by too much sitting.

That is when it hit me. This is what unhealthy looks like in your late 30s.

Not extreme sports. Not accidents. Sitting. Too. Much.

I sit while nursing the baby. I sit while working at my computer. I go up and down the stairs in our house, which is good, but apparently not enough to counteract the rest of it.

According to the internet, you usually get this injury in one of three ways. One, riding a horse too much. That is a no, unless you count imaginary ones. Two, biking frequently because of posture. Also no. I honestly cannot remember the last time I rode a bike, and I know I was not 30. Three, sitting too much with poor posture.

Yeah. That one is probably me.

So here we are. I already had plans after Christmas to get back on the dieting horse. Now I am thinking I need to add working out to the plan too. I have been working on looking more put together regardless of my body size, and maybe this is just part of a bigger reset. A whole new package. We will see.

In the meantime, it takes about two to six weeks for an inflamed sit bone to calm down. Which means I will be doing a lot of standing this Christmas.

Apparently, this is adulthood now.

Life is messy and loud and beautiful, and so are you. At Kristian Hutchings Portraits, I’ve built an experience that takes you out of the everyday and into a space where you’re pampered, posed, and celebrated. From professional hair and makeup to portraits you’ll treasure for a lifetime, this is more than photos—it’s a chance to finally put yourself first.

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Kristian is a mom of six, Program Manager by day, active Professional Photographer by trade, and a big believer in finding beauty in the everyday chaos.

Life in our house is loud, messy and full of literally everything. Love, noise, laundry, laughter, and definitely could use a bit more grace. I'm happily married to my best friend, grounded in my Catholic faith, and fueled by five to six hours of sleep per night and adrenaline.

I try to find joy in the everyday — even when it's wild, because without the little bit of joy, this life would be unbearable. This space is for the moms in the middle of it all: the ones juggling family, faith, work, and wonder. The ones that need someone else's messy life to make their own seem better or somewhat normal. You're not alone, and you're doing better than you think.

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