As Christmas vacation nears a close, my 13 year old son is trying to squeeze in all the fun he can before school starts again. Luckily, he has a Dad who is always willing to take him sledding, swimming and all those other fun activities. Unfortunately, his Mom is a home-body and loses out on opportunities to share the fun with her son because she wouldn't be caught dead in a bathing suit and can't find ski pants to fit her...and so she just sits home while the rest of the family goes out and creates some fun memories.
I used to love doing all kinds of outdoor winter activities when I was young - skiing, skating and sledding. And summers I was outdoors every waking second. But somewhere along the line I let being overweight start interfering with my enjoyment of life. I've used it as an excuse to sit on the sidelines for years now. And today it occurred to me that when my son is fully grown, the memories of all his fun active times will hold only his father's presence and not mine. How did I let it get to this point and what am I going to do about it?
The short answer is to keep heading in the right direction and stay committed to losing more weight. I can't keep half-assing this - I'm losing out on too much of life. I admit that I've let myself become a slave to routine and have long buried the fun person I used to be. It's a gradual thing that builds up over the years until one day you look around yourself and don't like what you see. And I really don't like what I see - and I'm not just talking about what looks back at me in the mirror every day. I can put up with slow weight loss as long as I feel I'm headed in the right direction. But I'll never forgive myself for staying on the sidelines longer than necessary and missing my son's youth and a place in his happiest memories. Just one more reason to keep pressing on - no matter how long it takes.
1 comment:
It's hard to watch as your spouse is the "fun" one. I sit on the sidelines a lot too and am working on getting out there more.
Post a Comment