Setting an Example

Looking back to my personal goals of the year, the two that I seem to keep pushing towards the  back burner are yoga and zumba.  NOT GOOD!  After reading a blog post of a high school friend about her goals and challenges with losing baby weight and just being active to set an example for her daughter, it struck a cord with me.  I have never thought about my lack of physical activity and how it influences my children and their future.
  
Growing up, neither of my parents were the type to work out.  My mother was busy raising the three of us, and I certainly know, that alone is daily exercise, but she never deliberately set aside time to work out.  My father was also busy working hard to provide for the family, and simply had no time to work out either, though his job as a boilermaker was a very physical job.  Aside from that, they always encouraged us to participate in sports, and we certainly did.  I played t-ball/softball from 1st grade through my senior year in high school, along with volleyball and basketball in elementary and middle school.  I ran track somewhere in there as well.  My brothers did the same.  As kids, we played outside all the time.  Though, once I was in high school, sports is where my exercise routine stopped.  In the summers, I had ZERO interest in going for a run or swimming for exercise, and into my adulthood, I still have ZERO interest.  I don't know if the lack of deliberate exercise by my parents had such a profound effect on me or not.  Maybe I am just the couch potato type.  Who knows. 

As parents, we are always worried about what our children see us doing and don't want them to have the same habits as us, like biting your nails, or for some smoking cigarettes (WHICH I DON'T DO...just an example people).  But what we don't think about are the examples of what we are NOT doing, like getting off our butt's and exercising.  The reason for exercising doesn't have to be to lose weight either.  It is to be healthy and fit.  I have been thin my entire life.  By no means am I interested in losing any more than five pounds, which will bring me back to my pre-baby weight.  At the same time, even though I have always been tall and slender, that doesn't mean I am in tip top physical shape.  I have been blessed with some great genetics that allow me to stay thin.  As I said, I put ZERO effort into my physique.  To be completely honest, I eat like a line-backer, and still don't gain a thing.  It's just me.  And just because I am naturally tall and thin is no excuse to be a couch potato either.   Especially because I don't want to raise three other couch potatoes.  So, in the month of March......I will start checking off my list, STARTING WITH ZUMBA!  It should be easy to fit into our new daily routine, which is getting up and getting our 4 year old ready for school.  Getting my tush out of bed to do that is an achievement in itself for this night owl/late sleeper.  Let's hope we can get this Zumba train moving!