4 tips for keeping up with an *active* child (or friend or life-partner).

Oh Miz.  I get tired reading about how you play with the Tornado. This makes me terrified to have kids because it looks exhausting!!!  I need motherhood tips now LOL

Im not a super young mother.

This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing – it just is.

Because of this, however, I’m confident I spend more time thinking about how I can keep up with my seven-year-old’s boundless energy than my mom-peers in their early 30s.

Right now I’m doing ok.

Tomorrow? I have that covered as well. (3 cheers for the ease of playground play!)

The years to come?

The years where she’ll only get faster, busier & (with any luck) more focused on movement?

You’d better believe I have a plan for staying fit, feisty and fabulous(ly active) as I move toward 50+.  (<—ACRONYM ALERT! ACRONYM ALERT!)

My secret weapon is K.I.D.S

A four-pronged approach applicable for young-at-heart & young-in-age parents alike.

Keep up with interests. The Tornado loves gymnastics & I can still contort into a backbend.  As interests change, I may no longer possess the ‘skills.’  This isn’t important. What is important is staying in touch with her passions. Notice what your child loves.  Learn about the hobby. Talk about what he’s doing/playing. Communication & strong parent/child bond boosts health as much physical activity.

look out 3013 Olympics!

Invest in you. Put yourself first & make time for exercise/healthy living. It can feel as though takes you away from your child, but helps you keep up with them & *able* to active-play later.

I exit this EARLY to snag me-time.

Do new things! A large part of staying healthy as we age/playing an active role in children’s lives resides between our ears. Keep your cranium stimulated with new athletic activities. This prong also has added benefit of making you the coolest parent on the cul de sac when you gather the kids for a day of slack lining or pogo stick’ing!

This game tests my brain!

Start or Stay in shape.  Fallen off the workout wagon? Thought of child-chasing all afternoon sound exhausting? Make today the day you start a workout routine. Even something as *seemingly* basic as opening the front door and walking outside ROCKS for increasing energy! Already exercise? Don’t stop. Exercise begets energy and is our best line of defense when it comes to keeping up with our kids.

ExerciseEnergy gives LifeEnergy!

There you have it.

The K.I.D.S. ACRONYM I lean on during days I feel freakin wiped out less than super-energetic.

Now you.

Please to add a letter to my acronym! What do you do to stay ENERGIZED with your child, life-partner or friends?

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Six fitness lessons Ive learned from my child.

Last week was heaven.

Five full Tornado & Me days which were reminiscent of all our time before Kinder started.

We laughed, we cried (seriously. all that one-on-one time was NOT without its bickering!) it was better than Cats.

What I loved most was the fact we didn’t travel.

We hung here & just spent time together.  Time which caused me to marvel at how she’s matured & reflect back on all Ive learned *from* her the past six years.

In chronological order please to enjoy.

1.  Cardio can be creative. You, oh Tornado, were a crier.  All the time.  Needed or not.  You cried till you became red in the face and (as we searched for late night levity) we joked you appeared to be winded from the workout.  What did I learn from that? Anything done long enough & with enough tenacity/focus (hello bubblewrap!) can be cardio!  You taught me to skip (it) the traditional & let my imagination soar.

Getting your workout on.

2 . Pull-ups are fun!   Back in the day, before you were The Tornado, we referred to you as Toddler Freaky Strong.  The moment I’d dump you in the pack and play so I could finally shower set you in the P&P so I could work you’d commence pulling upward along the side.  Happily.  You’d smile, giggle, do pull-ups to fatigue never once complaining or shouting “Hey!! can I get a spot up in herre?!”  What did I learn from that? Pull-ups dont have to be a dreaded to-do on my back workout schedule.  The mere challenge of them & the faces I make as I struggle upward can!be!fun!

Practicing pull-ups poolside.

3.  Eat mindfully!  Now, to be clear, I discovered the importance of mindful eating long before you hit the scene.  With the addition of you, however, I began to rush through my self-care (fitness to food) in order to return to you-care.  Then you turned three.  You began to express a clear opinion as to what you wanted to eat & when you wanted to eat it.  You’d share these thoughts (slowly) and happily (slowly) ate what you ‘ordered.’  What did I re-learn from this? You weren’t annoyingingly slow at all—merely mindful.  You *paused* to ask yourself if you were hungry.  You s-l-o-w-l-y ate your food savoring, tasting, touching, EMBRACING each bite.  You reminded me to be more mindful.

The inexplicable chop sticks phase.

4. Wind-down routines ROCK.  I’ve always lamented the fact Im a poor sleeper.  I’d go to bed different times each night with absolutely, positively no method to my nighttime madness.  Id watch TV in bed.  I’d check email from bed.  I was a wind-down mess.  Then you came along.  You thrived on routine & practically demanded a strict nighttime regimen.   One small deviation from this plan and you’d not fall asleep.  What did I learn from this?  I need to sleep like a child, too.  Ive never slept better.

Pink princess PJs help.

5.  If at first you dont succeed—QUIT.  I’d known this at one point & somehow forgotten until you dancingly reminded me.  You “just knew” you wanted to take ballet.   You longed to learn to dance like the ‘pretty ladies.’  You tried, you loathed, you quit, you never looked back.  After two classes (the class leaped delicately as instructed over a stuffed bunny. you stopped, KICKED SAID BUNNY, and leaped away) you declared yourself done.  You informed me you’d prefer soccer and you’ve never looked back.  What did I learn? I re-learned there’s no percentage in sticking with something I know is not a fit for me.  I reminded myself I *know* when I long to quit out of fear and when I’m merely banging my head against the wall kicking a bunny.

Kicking encouraged.

6. Read the wall.  This is one we learned together over spring break.  Somehow Id forgotten all the lessons Id learned from climbing and needed you to remind me of them.  Life can be overwhelming and, at times, I plunge ahead without looking, scanning, planning or preparing.  In fitness I’m slowly learning I need to have a plan, too.   Spontaneous is great—but only goes so far.   I need to look ahead, read the wall, and prepare for what I want to achieve down the road.  Muscling my way through works—-but only in the short-term.

"Watch and remember, Mama."

In the moment I couldn’t see any of these concepts being “taught.”  It’s only with hindsight I see my greatest teacher is a six year old Tornado.

Have you, too, learned healthy living lessons in surprising places?

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I tired. My child? NotSoMuch.

twenty second video proof*:

I not too tired to write about how I PLAN to keep up with her…it’s the putting into action Im completely utterly & totally missing today.

#youllhavethat

Regardless, please to enjoy.

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