Saturday, January 22, 2011

Better Than Me

I think the primary goal for most parents is to raise children that are better than we are.  We don't want them to suffer our same mistakes, our same trials or tribulations.  We want them to have the best life possible - to be the best person possible. 

One of the ways that James and I want the boys to be better than we are is with their physical health.  Not that we're a sickly bunch, but both James and I have struggled for years with weight.  So, of course, we don't want the boys to have the same obstacle hanging over their heads as adults.

We try to teach them to eat new foods.  Lean proteins.  A variety of fruits and veggies.  We limit soda.  We limit sweets.  You don't have to like everything you ever eat - but you have to try new things and you have to try to have an open mind about it.

Currently, we're working to install the exercise habit in our boys.  When they were younger, they just had to do "one thing a year."  It didn't matter if it were baseball, football, soccer, karate, basketball - you just had to do something.  As they've gotten older, it's harder to keep them involved in those activities.  Let's face it, as kids get older, team sports start weeding out the non-superstars.  Those kids that are still playing for the love of the game, instead of their phenomenal athletic ability find themselves riding the bench more and more.  (That's a whole other blog post and not really related to this one...)

Carter was the first to say, "I really don't like sports."  It's okay.  We've accepted that now.  Nathaniel is showing interest in wrestling like his older brothers, but he's a year too young to wrestle for the schools.  Tyler and J.B. are both wrestling for their schools.   But, for Carter and Nathaniel, we were left with the "What do we get them active in?"

Then, we found CrossFit, with a very attractive family plan and trainers that were welcoming to kids being part of the experience.  Now, we get the boys to CrossFit 2-3 times per week.  We're already noticing an increase in self-esteem.  Nathaniel is slimming up.  Carter is getting faster.  J.B. is learning to lift weights for strength.  Tyler's getting stronger. 

It's really amazing to watch this happen.  How self esteems are improving.  How they're overcoming insecurities.  How they're learning to deal with frustrations when they can't immediately reach their goals, and yet keep trying to get to the goal.   It's fun that they're going through this with us - as a family - and they get to see James and I work hard, reaping the benefits as we go along.  They get to see us struggle.  They get to see us get frustrated with ourselves (for a change.)  They get to see us push through toward the bigger goal.

This morning, I got to spend an hour at CrossFit with Nathaniel and Carter.  We got to be a team for the workout - and we got to push each other and help each other.  We got to praise each other's strengths and cheer each other on when we struggled to accomplish a portion of the workout.

It's mornings like this that I know, they will be better than me.

2 comments:

  1. What an awesome post and awesome job you're doing with them. LOVE it!

    Winks & Smiles,
    Wifey

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  2. Very inspirational!!!! And YOU are a huge inspiration to them.

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