- 3:21 PM, Sunday,
March 28th, 2021:
-
- This shouldn't
come as a surprise, but it's always a jolting moment
when you see your kid stand out.
-
- So, uhm, Cam likes
it when we strap something on him that gives him a
high score for moving and he gets to act like he's in
a video game every day.
-
- Duh.
-
- So we got the kids
a fitbit and they came the first day of their spring
break. Why this didn't occur to us a year ago is
beyond me. We actually tried to do a daily outdoor
running thing with them at the beginning of the
pandemic and Cam just wasn't having it. It hurts him,
his asthma is a motherfuck and it drains him
immediately. Kid just doesn't get the same oxygen when
he breathes that we do. It's awful.
-
- However, one of
the best things you can do for asthma is strngthen
your lungs. Obvious catch-22, and with so much
shittiness surrounding the quarantine we didn't push
it. We forced them outside often, but they would often
just sit and talk or say they were bored. In
that backyard. They were bored.
-
- <blink>
-
- Cut to last week
and Talya and I were tipsy and being blatantly honest
about our concerns as parents and Cam's weight came
up. There's no doubt he has my blood. He can out-eat
me sometimes at 7. I could do the same when I was his
age. We have the hunter-gatherer body and without the
activity at an actual physical school with other kids?
He's just never gonna get the exercise he needs. Kids,
need, each other. That's how they move without even
thinking about it. Recess is the shit. Hell, even
moving from class to class and not staring at a laptop
is the shit. Well if you look at the kid at his 6.5
birthday last June and then cut to 6 months later?
Probably a double-digit weight gain. Now of course
some of this is just the normal growth spurts kids go
through, but little dude was always THICK. Like
proportionally his butt looks like another head. We've
known for awhile that if he isn't in some sport that
his love for gaming is gonna be an issue. Enter
pandemic and nowhere to run but the backyard.
-
- So I had this
revelation. Instead of doing what it seems we're told
to do, which is tiptoe around all topics about
weight/health... what if we gave them the tools they
need to beat it? Just straight up. They see Talya and
I with our apple watches in various stages of working
out or eating right (or struggling therein) - like we
have to be self-aware as parents: we didn't pull it
off. That great ideal where your kids see you eating
healthy, working out, having a routine... yeah that
shit didn't happen. We're normal people that struggle
and the kids see it. We've always been honest about
that with them, and Cam's asthma was a nice transition
to give them fitbits and explain what they're for. Of
course Vienna needs to be active as well, but in my
life I have never seen someone eat more perfectly than
this human. She can eat 3 bites and say "Yup, I'm
good", and walk away for 2 hours. Repeat, daily. It's
amazing. I mean, it's how modern humans are
supposed to eat of course... but to me? That's a
goddamned magic trick. She simply never overeats
because it doesn't occur to her. I mean. Fuck her.
LOL
-
- So the result, at
least a week in, has been immediate. We told the kids
if they do their homework and get 10,000 steps? They
can do anything they want. Now it's been spring break,
but man - they knocked that out before NOON. Hell, Cam
got over 20,000 steps one day. He wants to be "healthy
and strong" as he puts it and the funny thing is? I
think he's trying to be kind to ME. Like, he doesn't
want to say it to my face but he is aware that I'm
substantially bigger than I usually am and he doesn't
want to be THAT. He just won't say FAT. We have two
very sweet kids. Doesn't really bother me because I
know my routine and I know what I'm shooting this
year... I will be back to skinny me because I
have to be. Maintaining after I've shot everything?
Sheeeeeeit. No idea. I'll deal with that
then.
-
- So we'll see what
happens when school starts back up but the focus in
this little dude's personality is really, really
crazy. Like - he's got my adult traits soooooo young.
Goal oriented and certain he can pull it off... it's
just wild to see that so innate? Is that the word?
Like we picture "Tiger Moms" or drill sargeant types
of parents turning kids into robots - and that is
not me nor is it Talya. We clearly follow their
lead and their traits and just try and support them...
but watch this video of Cam:
-
-
- CHRIST THE TEARS.
Shit wrecks me. It's just in him. It isn't taught. I
literally just explained the facts of the matter when
it comes to movement and health and he took the fuck
off.
Proud dad moment for sure.
Adam
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