This might be difficult to read. It was unsettling for me to experience yesterday. Even sitting down to write about this stirs many emotions for me. Yesterday we were at the park. This is not unlike many other days! But what happened yesterday is going to stick with me for a long, long time. I was playing with the kids and we were also taking turns talking with my out-of-town mom by passing around my phone. "Grandma! Now we are going to go down the slide! See, you are going with me! Wheeee!" (Kylee is too cute with her enthusiasm and desire to share life with those she loves!) Nathan was asking me to help him swing HIGH into the sky. During which he was singing over and over, "Everything is Awesome"; a tribute to the Lego movie which we had seen at the theater earlier in the day. I really wanted to capture this on video but Kylee had the phone and was having too much fun "with" Grandma on the slide. As I looked around the park, there were a few families present and also a summer camp care program. We were at the park during the late afternoon. It was too nice of a day to not get out there and enjoy it! Eventually the parents and grandparents of the campers began to arrive. I watched as a grandparent got out of the car slowly and began to make their way over to the clipboard area. This individual was quite overweight and clearly this was taking a toll on their body and ability to function in everyday life. Of course this is not an uncommon sight today and I think of friends in the medical field who spend so much time treating problems that could have been prevented through a more healthy lifestyle. I am NOT saying this in any sort of judgement. Rather this is a self-reflective thing. That could have been me one day, had I continued on the path that I was on one year ago.
At this point Nathan was having fun jumping over an old drain grate. He was running and taking a flying leap to the other side and wanted me to join him. We held hands and ran and jumped and laughed together. It is a new thing for me to have the physical confidence to be able to do something like this! That may sound kind of goofy but is so true. I was quite klutzy and just plain uncoordinated in the past. My body would not do what my mind was telling it should happen! NOT that I have now morphed into a circus tightrope walker, but I have come a LONG way and this really does play out in what I am able to do in everyday life!
Kylee was playing with a little girl who was a year younger than her. This little girl was the last camper who remained for the day. They were chatty and cute with one another. The conversation was what I have come to expect of girls that age. When you get an opportunity to eavesdrop, it just makes you smile! The little girl's mom pulled up and got out of the car. Instantly I saw myself and where I was last summer. This was juxtaposed against the flying leaps that Nathan and I were making over the old drain grate. Kylee ran over to us as the little girl's mom was motioning to her to head that way. Kylee exclaimed, "Mom! Let's show them our trick!!" I was clueless as to what "our trick" was, but I said "okay!". I asked Kylee what we were going to do for this trick? She said that she would climb on my back and I would run all around with her up there and make crazy turns and bounce her around for a ride. Oh right, "our trick". :) I had not known that this was how she regarded that experience! So up she went and we did it. But I had to hold back the tears. I could see something in the eyes of the other mom. This kind of "trick" was not a current option for her. Just like me last summer and the summers past. I did not have the strength, energy, balance or confidence to do something like this in prior years. There were LOTS of other fun things that I did with my kids and of course they are fine to go through life without doing "our trick". But it sure is fun to be able to do things with them this summer that I was never able to do with them in past years.
If you are reading this and can relate, I can help you with making some changes to improve your health! This is about so much more more than just "looking good". It really is about being able to do things that you were unable to do before. It is also about making changes that will really benefit your health in the long run. You may not be at 230 pounds like I was last summer, but you may still feel as though you are lacking in energy and strength. Yesterday was eye opening for me. It really felt like one of those experiences where you are getting a look at your past and your potential future. It made me so thankful to be where I am right now. It was also motivation to continue onward with this journey!
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