A Little Bit Fit

It all started December 25, 2015.  Christmas morning.

“A Fitbit!  Wow, Davey, thanks.”  One by one my children opened their present from their youngest brother.  They were pumped!  Each had received a Fitbit.  Even I had gotten one, but Santa brought mine.    

Now in our family, everything is a competition.  Who can win at mini-golf?  Who is the tallest?  Who had the fastest time in the 50-yard fly?  Who will win croquet?  Who can burp the ABC’s the best?  So, with the introduction of this best gift ever, a whole new level of competition was about to begin.  If you don’t have a Fitbit, you may not know that you can challenge your “friends” to competitions to see who gets the most steps.  You can invite others  or be invited, to compete in Goal Day, Workweek Hustle,  Weekend Warrior, or Daily Showdown.  Push the accept button, and you are in! On your mark, get set, go!

Well, I am competitive, too, (I wonder where they got it from?) even though I am their mother.  I like to try to stay in shape as much as the next one, but this has gotten more challenging as the years have slipped by.  I used to jog everyday…between pregnancies and sick children and life’s hiccups.  Now there are other challenges.  There is the job change challenge-interventionist/Reading Recovery teacher to Literacy Coach with all the additional training at Ohio State University.  That became a black hole where there was no light or fun or exercise or life for a year and a half. Then, there is the doctor’s challenge, “No more running.  Your knees can’t take it.  Try cycling.”  Now, there is the challenge of slicing.  Slicing sounds easy,  let’s face it, how hard is it to SLICE a piece of cake?  But, stories don’t just bubble out my fingers like water bubbles from a spring.  I have to painstakingly coax the slices out, word by word, sometimes letter by letter.   However, I digress.  

Back to the Fitbit.  I accept these challenges, and I still want to win.  Remember, my kids are all young adults-in college or working.  None have children yet.  Most have more freedom in their days than I do.  But, when I am invited, or invite them, to a Fitbit challenge for the day or week or weekend, I accept. The problem is that they run; I walk.  Classes take them all over campus; meetings keep me in a chair.  They have freedom in their schedules; I don’t.  But, that doesn’t really matter.  In spite of my handicaps, I still want to win the challenges.  I’m “in it to win it” so I am creative in getting a little bit fit.  In the morning, I put on my sneakers and walk to work.  (How do you carry all your teacher gear?  Ha! Ha!  My sweet hubby drives my briefcase and bags to school and drops them off for me!  I know, amazing!)  Even though one way only logs about 1800 steps, it’s better than nothing.  I have taken the doctor’s advice about riding bikes, and now, in summers, my husband and I easily rack up 100 miles a week on our bikes. (The wind in my hair and the “need for speed” is exhilarating!  I’m hooked.)  In the long and dreary winter, spinning is a sloppy second to riding outdoors, but I do it anyway.  The unfortunate Fitbit reality is that spinning doesn’t give me any steps.  Even though I leave class with wobbly legs and sweat-soaked clothes, I don’t earn any  steps.  NOT ONE!   Yoga is the same story. Warrior one, warrior two, up-dog, down-dog, pretzel positions, you name it-nothing.  No steps.  

So what’s a gal to do?  Give up?  No way!  A gal’s gotta get up and go, go, go.  Now, I spin and walk on the treadmill.  Now, it’s yoga and  a walk after school.  Now, I park in the back forty and walk a little farther.  Now, when Nature calls, I go to the bathroom by way of a lap around the school  A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do to get a little bit fit.

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By-the-bye, I occasionally win!  My kids are keeping young and a little bit fit.