Sometime last year David and I were in Texas visiting his relatives when his cousin and his cousin's wife stopped over for a visit with their two children, aged 6 and 9.
They pulled up to my in-laws' house in their RV, four dusty mountain bikes mounted on the front rack.
As we sat over lunch, they told us about the weekend they had just spent up in the hills. They'd explored mountain trails by bike. They'd gone swimming in the cool mountain run-off. They'd hiked around for hours in the abundant Texas scenery.
As they drove off after our meal, my husband and I stared after their departing tail lights (barely visible on either side of the kayak mounted to their RV's bumper) and decided we wanted to be JUST LIKE THEM!
We vowed to become - - - FIT FAMILY!!!!
As they drove off after our meal, my husband and I stared after their departing tail lights (barely visible on either side of the kayak mounted to their RV's bumper) and decided we wanted to be JUST LIKE THEM!
We vowed to become - - - FIT FAMILY!!!!
We would throw off the chains of lethargy and commit to a new and active lifestyle! No more early mornings spent bleary-eyed over viewings of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - FIT FAMILY would eagerly jump from our beds for jaunty runs behind high-performance jogging strollers! No more weekends spent desperately trying to catch up on some reading as the children crawled about the playroom eating discarded graham crackers - FIT FAMILY would instead cram said offspring into bicycle seats for zesty rides about the countryside!
David's athletic cousins had lit a fire under our doughy behinds and we had the Eye of the Tiger. We were ready to transform our family -- movie-montage style -- into our best and sportiest selves!!
By the time we'd returned to Los Angeles, our enthusiasm for all things FIT FAMILY had already begun to wane.
Our best laid plans seemed hopelessly buried beneath the weight of constant meal preparation, self-replicating laundry piles, and the simple reality that every moment of our free time is reserved for emergency napping.
We faced the truth that David's cousins both have a background in semi-professional athletics, while my husband and I, both have a background in excessive TV viewership. We accepted that at our stage of life it may not be super-realistic to plan for all-family marathons, competitive mountain biking relays or open-water swim races. We realized that we were going to have to start small.
And fortunately, "There's an App for That."
David and I both completed the C25k program, which means that we can now run for 30 minutes at a time without needing to be admitted to a local ER.
We also decided on the more realistic goal of attempting to complete two fitness-themed activities per month.
This could be heading to the big hill behind our house and climbing to the top together, renting bicycles and towing the kids behind us along the beach, or heading to the finish line to root on Mom or Dad at the end of a race.
So if you find yourself climbing a foothill in Los Angeles or biking leisurely along one of our local pathways, keep your eyes peeled. You might just spy MODERATELY IN-SHAPE FAMILY out on one of our group outings!
Please feel free to offer us snacks.
Our best laid plans seemed hopelessly buried beneath the weight of constant meal preparation, self-replicating laundry piles, and the simple reality that every moment of our free time is reserved for emergency napping.
We faced the truth that David's cousins both have a background in semi-professional athletics, while my husband and I, both have a background in excessive TV viewership. We accepted that at our stage of life it may not be super-realistic to plan for all-family marathons, competitive mountain biking relays or open-water swim races. We realized that we were going to have to start small.
And fortunately, "There's an App for That."
David and I both completed the C25k program, which means that we can now run for 30 minutes at a time without needing to be admitted to a local ER.
We also decided on the more realistic goal of attempting to complete two fitness-themed activities per month.
This could be heading to the big hill behind our house and climbing to the top together, renting bicycles and towing the kids behind us along the beach, or heading to the finish line to root on Mom or Dad at the end of a race.
So if you find yourself climbing a foothill in Los Angeles or biking leisurely along one of our local pathways, keep your eyes peeled. You might just spy MODERATELY IN-SHAPE FAMILY out on one of our group outings!
Please feel free to offer us snacks.
