Enjoying the Great Outdoors

Now that the Olympics are over.. I feel like I am experiencing a bit of withdrawal... no more yelling at the TV during close races... no more inspiration from the wonderful, talented and humble athletes, no more excitement and Patriot pride... and no more access to really great programming on tv!

It's back to the same old, same old. I love watching the Olympics.. any Olympics.. summer or winter... whatever is on. And it was nice too, this year we could watch with Lu... she was really getting into hockey and speed skating, but of course her favourite was watching the "princesses" dance on the ice, or watching the speed demons on the downhill races. It was all so thrilling and magical.

And heck.. you never know.. maybe years from now we will be watching our own daughter excelling at an Olympic game at whatever sport she chooses to pursue... you just never know.

And of course I just assume she will be a great athlete. We spend a lot of time outdoors - playing, walking, riding our bikes, playing games, gardening, shoveling the walk, throwing the frisbee for the dog, hiking, swimming, sailing and skiing... but whatever we do... it is outdoor. I think this is so important not only for Lu's overall development but to also impart a love of sport, activity, healthy lifestyle and love for the great outdoors in her growing mind. This is so very important to us as individuals and as a family.

Recently, I read an article about how to keep our kids active and healthy at the peak of an obesity epidemic in children throughout the western world. The article stated three simple things to do with your kids which will help keep them active and fit: prepare your meals at home from scratch; get outdoors and active with your kids and be sure to eat most meals together as a family.

This really puzzled me... what are people doing? To me, those three simple things were a no-brainer.. we already eat every meal together at the table, we already prepare 98% of our meals from scratch and we already pursue a healthy and active lifestyle. Is it really difficult for the average family to follow these three simple suggestions?

With a little planning and foresight... these three things are very easy to accomplish and ... well, SHOULD be accomplished. I can't understand why someone would allow their child to get fat.. to get lazy and to have such unhealthy and unrealistic expectations. Apparently it is more common than we all know - considering all the overweight kids I see, daily, at the grocery store, in Lu's dance class, waiting at the bus stop, going to the movies with friends...and the list goes on and on.