On The Fly.

Whoever told me that my life would calm down once the kids were out of diapers would be appalled by the state of the mom-calendar hanging on my fridge door. It didn't take long for me to realize that my preparation for motherhood was unrealistic, in part because other women make it look so easy and natural. It did dawn on me that perhaps other women pretended it was easy because they wanted to lure unsuspecting carefree women onto the treadmill with them...crazy loves company right?

I also did not expect my kids to be athletic. I have always been active in a daily work kind of way and was blessed to have a body that looked a little more athletic than it actually was. But when Lil and her little bowed legs came into our lives, physical fitness became very important focus. We involved her in gymnastics, swimming and music before she could walk in the hope of making up for lost time and nurturing and inadvertently we created an athlete.

Tony and I are lucky enough to spend our working lives doing something we truly love but realize that this is not the case for many people. In the hopes that our kids will find a passion, we have used the rule of 3 in involving them in interests. School is always the priority so it takes the number 1 spot. One activity for the body, another for the mind has included swim and piano for Lil and while we don't see the podium or the symphony in her future it has planted seeds of inspiration, and made her very conscious of how she cares for her nutrition and body. And we all relish in her pride when she brings home another first place in her "fly" heat as she moves up the ranks on the swim team.


This of course has significant consequences for Tony and I...not just because the mom van is constantly on the fly between swim, school, music, orthodontist and occasional out of town swim meets, but as she applies her expertise to how we live our lives.
"Are you and Dad going to the gymn today Mom?"
"Do you know that this cereal has 40 grams of carbohydrate? We don't want to get diabetes Mom."
"I need more protein to build muscle so I can swim faster Mom"
And so my biweekly grocery shops include a lot of label reading to ensure it passes the kid inspection before it makes its way into the kitchen cupboards.

Miss Grace is a surprise a minute. We decided that she would be the family brainiac given her remarkable memory and attention to detail. We joked that she and Lil were "sink and swim" as Grace had a long unhappy introduction to water and until last summer, really didn't seem to have any interest in getting wet. Finding our family a little too "Lily centred" we decided that Grace may enjoy gymnastics given that she almost cartwheeled herself out her second story bedroom window last summer. She insisted on starting piano 2 years before the music teacher felt it wise, and has torn through 2 music books, now playing quite competently with both tiny hands. Her olympian gymnastics coach has pushed her forward, finding her to be intuitive and a "natural" and so she begins extended hours of training this week. She too is a label reader and will shake her head in dismay at the sugar content in the cupcake that she is scarfing down.

We are tough parents. Our kids know that the rewards in life aren't derived by luck, but rather hard work and responsibility. We apply the same rules to ourselves in our daily work but also in not demanding more fitness from our kids than we do ourselves. Being involved in a sport like weight lifting has allowed us to almost keep up with our daughters, hopefully extend our lives, and squeeze a little self care into our often frantic schedules. My goal for 2014 is to do a chin up and develop a 6 pack, an accomplishment my 10 year old experienced a couple of years ago. With persistence and a little coaching from the kids, I will get it done.

Despite the pace, Tony and I wouldn't want it any other way. Given the option of retirement, we have decided to continue working for the pleasure of it. Modelling a work ethic for the kids and exposing them to the sciences is part of that strategy but its mostly because making babies is so much fun. And as long as I don't tell all of those carefree couples what is waiting for them on the other side of the delivery room, we'll stay in business.