As a mum of 2 boys, I often get comments like:
“I bet they keep you on your toes.”
“Wow, you must be busy keeping up with them.”
“Boys are so active, how do you keep up?”
To be perfectly honest, I don’t. They both run circles around me.
My boys are both very active and sporty, but in different ways. Ethan is an extremely fast sprinter and a great climber. Tyler is always on the go, and has mad scooter skills (I imagine he would fare just as well on a skateboard, surfboard or snowboard, if he had them). They both have pretty good ball skills, and they are both confident bike riders.
It’s no surprise, really. I only donated 50% of their DNA. Their Daddy LOVES sport – watching and participating. I’ve never seen him try a sport and NOT be good at it. Skateboarding, soccer, tennis, bowling, cricket, squash, rugby, swimming, cycling, snowboarding, golf, kayaking, badminton, softball, running, weightlifting, wakeboarding, petanque. You name it, he can do it. It’s sickening.
I, however, am not really a sporty person. I’m more of a bookish person. I didn’t play any team sports when I was at school. I tried a few things, but nothing really “fit”.
Sure, I like the outdoors and I LOVE the beach. But I love to stroll down to the beach, have a leisurely swim, and then lie on the sand reading my book. My boys would rather run/skip/hop to the beach, expend tons of energy in the water, do a little skimboarding, play some beach cricket, and then have a few running races before getting stuck into making sandcastles.
Worlds apart, people.
I joined the gym a few years ago, and went regularly for a couple of years. However, I let my membership lapse because I wasn’t seeing the (weight loss) results I wanted. Instead of spending $60/month on gym fees, I decided to spend the same amount attending Weight Watchers meetings. After losing 11kg and reaching my goal weight, I no longer have to pay for WW meetings. And I finally saw the results I wanted.
But this means I *should* rejoin the gym. I *should* tone up and get fit. Now that Tyler is also at school, I have more flexibility in my workday to fit in 3 or 4 workouts each week. So I’m probably going back to Curves when school starts up again.
In the meantime, I’m trying to go walking and do more incidental exercise. During Term 4, the boys and I walked to and from school almost every day. I think I only drove the car 3 times in 10 weeks, when we had torrential rain. Now school is not far from our house; it’s only a 5 minute walk. But walking there and back twice a day equals 20 minutes of walking each day. Now the boys are on their school holidays, I’m not getting that exercise anymore.
And yes, sadly, I have noticed the difference. My clothes have been getting a little tight. This is also partly a result of over-indulging during the Festive season, but I have no doubt the lack of exercise is also a big culprit.
So until I return to the gym, I’m trying to get out there and pound the pavements every day (or at least 4-5 times a week). On Sunday night I went for a power walk, just me and my iPod, conquering lots of steps and hills. It was great. I felt great.
Tonight, I was all set to head out for my walk after dinner, when Tyler decided that he wanted to come. So I had the idea of making it a family event. All 4 of us embarked on an evening walk. For fitness. The route included a huge set of steps.
Before we left, I made sure everybody knew that I did not want to be held back by dawdlers. *I* would be setting the pace, and they needed to keep up.
Yeah. I needn’t have worried. My boys TOTALLY OUTDID ME. They wanted to run (RUN!) most of the way. I don’t “do” running. They powered up the steps without stopping, and then stood at the top watching me bringing up the rear, all the while proclaiming, “that wasn’t hard at all” and “I’m not even puffed”.
Nice.
While I’m pleased that my boys are so fit and active, it has not done much for my self-confidence! I have always considered myself a pretty fast walker, and I know other family members would concur (Mum, Leah). But I have been taken down a peg or two.
Next time, I think I will go back to walking on my own. Although I could probably do with 3 personal trainers urging me to “go faster!” and “come on, catch up to us!”, I think I prefer listening to Rob Thomas asking, “what if I gave all my life to find some way to stand beside you?” or the melodic strains of Jason Mraz declaring, “I’m yours”.
Yes, it will be just me and my iPod from now on … and walks with the family will be JUST FOR FUN!