Finding Time for Exercise

Michael is much better than I am when it comes to finding time for exercise. He goes to Jiu-Jitsu three times every week, he walks on the beach every morning when I take the kids to school, he does squats and dead lifts between phone calls in his office, and he serves as the gym teacher for the kids most evenings.

All four children are tumbling the length of our house, doing mountain climbs, and compete with one another for the maximum output of push-ups, sit-ups, and squats in a given period of time. I am amazed that Wilhelmina has just fallen into this nightly routine.

I have read several books recently on the detachment from nature that today's children suffer from; how the obesity rates in this country are off the charts; and how technology and homework has replaced good ol' outside playtime. So, this is definitely one way Michael has chosen to encourage the kids to maintain a certain level of physical activity. And, I approach this phenomenon with "making good food choices." The school incorporates daily doses of PE, Karate, gardening and playground visits. Hopefully, these steps we are taking now as a family and community will decrease the potential physical challenges for our children that most children will struggle with in the years to come.