Reality check

Monday night Angela started basketball. Angela and I got to the Y early and walked a mile on the track together. That felt good!

Well, the weather here that day was HORRIBLE, so a lot of the athletes didn't show up, and the same was true for several of the coaches. Instead we had a nice practice with a smaller group of kids.

Let start with warm-ups, shall we?

There were about 8 or so kids and their parents. We all sat around in a circle for warm-ups, Angela and I next to each other. Stretching: Not too bad, though my arms are too short and I'm nowhere near able to reach my toes. I noticed the other parents were able to reach theirs. But, like I said, my arms are too short.

Sit-ups: I opted to be the foot-holder for this activity, and encouraged Angela to squeeze out 10 sit-ups. I know she does more than this at school, but 10 seemed like a lot to me at the moment.

Push-ups. Ok...I can remember a day that really doesn't seem that long ago (well, 25 years disappears in a flash, doesn't it?) when I was maxing out the Army Basic Training PT test EVERY WEEK. I was running 10 miles per day. And I could do all kinds of different pushups. On Monday, I was able to do 4. FOUR push-ups. UGH! I noticed the other parents, and I'm pretty sure they all did 10, or they faked it really well. Angela wasn't able to do even one, though that mostly seemed to be a coordination issue. I KNOW she used to do push-ups quite well, but she's gained a lot of weight this year, and it's all in her belly. This has caused her to be unable to do them anymore.

When we were done, I was looking at Angela and , and (I know I'm not supposed to do this) comparing ourselves to the other families there. What has happened? comparing ourselves to the other families there. What has happened? Most people don't look at Angela and think, "Wow, she's really overweight!" She's a little on the plump side. LOL At 54 1/2 inches, and 103 lbs, her BMI is at the 93%, and she is overweight. Loosing just 9 pounds would make a big difference for her.

I felt horrible. Isn't it my responsibility to keep Angela fit? She's certainly active, in fact there is NO WAY we could squeeze in another activity, but I know I haven't done the best job of monitoring her diet. We go in fits and spurts of really healthy eating, then a month or so of crap. Shame on me.

And then I got to thinking, I CAN squeeze in one more activity. Walking! Angela and I really enjoyed walking together on the track! It's interesting, because she has always hated walking with me on the street, but I think she liked the repetitiveness of walking the track. She liked counting every time we passed the elevator, and the kids in the pool down below. AND... this is something we could do together on a regular basis. Not daily, but certainly a few times per week. And, the days that she can't swim because we have other commitments, we could certainly go walking right after school! Or maybe lap swim? Between that and a diet change, maybe Angela will start to feel the benefits of additional strength and endurance? Hmmmm Maybe mom would benefit form it too? LOL