Fitness Challenge Update

Hi, gals! I sure enjoyed the meeting Thursday. The breakfast was delicious, especially with some contraband picante! The pediatrician was terrific; I liked how he gave specific remedies and explained his reasoning. He took the time to thoroughly answer the questions that we got to, going so far as to stay after the meeting and leave with the last little MOPS contingent as we closed the place down. How I’d love to have a doctor like that; my last visit consisted of an hour and 15 minute wait in “the room” (you know how fun that is, sitting on the examining table and alternating between looking at magazines and looking at your watch) and 5 minutes of his time.

The pediatrician talked about eating your veggies, and I laughed because I really like Brussels sprouts (they grow on stems and are quite beautiful to see that way; look if you are ever in Earth Fare). The part about separation anxiety was quite fitting. He mentioned that there are different stages, and how true that is. He told you to prepare for kindergarten separation, and I just started laughing. I was the kid who lunged at my mother as she walked away, grabbed her ankles with the “child death grip”, and proceeded to scream at the top of my lungs. When my daughters started school (they both started in the third grade since I homeschooled up to that point), I was the one having the anxiety. Now here I am, with one out of college and on her own and one going to college in 4 months! And I can truly say I’m excited. True, my nest won’t be totally empty; I do still have a duck in it. But it will be different; I’m down to the last few--preparing my last few school lunches (healthy, of course), making sure for the last few times that my daughter doesn’t fall back asleep after the alarm goes off (she could win a medal in that department), and the last few days of planning my day around her schedule. I have to say it has been a great ride, and motherhood surely doesn’t stop when your kids leave the house (lifelong commitment; I think I can hear an “amen” or two out there), but I look forward to the new adventures ahead. Enjoy your adventures now. I know it isn’t easy-- it’s the days that seem long sometimes; the years fly by.

I think the thing that struck me the most about the meeting, when thinking about the fitness challenge and the discussion with the pediatrician, is how important it is that we model healthy living for our children. We really are our children’s most important teachers. That is why taking care of ourselves is so important; it gives our children a blueprint to follow. I happen to think that a regular family dinner, preferably prepared at home and eaten at a dining table and not in front of the television (I like music in the background), is one of the best things you can do for your family. Involve your kids in the shopping and preparation of the dinner. Print a picture of a fruit or vegetable and have them hunt it down in the produce section (you know it is purposely in the back corner of the store, so you have to go through the high priced, prepackaged foods to get there—temptation!). Teach them the food pyramid--draw it out on a big triangle and cut it up like puzzle pieces. Show them that the bigger pieces mean we need to eat more of these foods. Have them tell you which foods on their plate belong to which group. We always asked our girls, “do you have a colorful plate?”, because often variety of colors translates into variety of foods and nutrients (and I’m not talking mint, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream for dinner!). The old saying says that actions speak louder than words; that may be true, but in truth actions and words both still speak. It is important to model both. Be a supermodel to your kids.

Blessings—Suzanne.