A personality trait of mine that you may have gleaned by reading my random musings each week is that I am a very devoted father, I love my kids, and they are huge part of the motivation I have to heal myself. There was a conversation this week that in many ways has validated the path I am on and the lessons that Amy and I, by example, are trying to teach our children.
I briefly wrote some time ago that Nutrition and Fitness choices are learned not inherent. In others words the lifelong habits that we exhibit as we age are based on the habits that we learned as children. To quote myself from a couple months ago: “the bad nutrition habits of kids is not a choice but a learned habit because of the way we parents raise them. I totally agree, however, I am not placing blame on me or you as there is so much more than the individual. The blame is on so many shoulders… parents, educational staff, government, marketing, tv, electronic devices, community, the list is endless. The really cool thing is, even though there are many parties to blame in the ever declining health of the next generation, the change only takes one person. Remember the small steps lead to the huge journey.”
The small victory that occurred this week was with my oldest daughter. She is 14 years old, a very smart kid, very beautiful, and up to just recently our one kids that just absolutely loved junk food. This last Saturday night Amy and I took her to the Airport to put her on a plane for a week-long trip to DC with her school through Close Up Foundation (Closeup.org). As she was pacing about the Lobby waiting for the other students and teachers Amy turned to me and told me about their prep visit to the store. Here is how she worded it:
Amy: Skye came to me today and told me she no longer wanted to eat crappy food from school. She then laid out her plan to me that she wanted me to make her lunch and to ensure that it is Organic whatever, and that her snacks do not contain sugar. Mom, I have decided that I need to eat more like you and dad.
Okay, very simple conversation. Nothing to make the church bells to start ringing wild for. However, as this is something we have been over the past 5 months slowly working towards, it was a victory! You see we have made many changes in our house over the course of this year, and the only relief the kids have from those changes is School food if they choose. Some might ask what changes have you implemented? Let me list just a few:
1- We fixed our own nutrition habits first (most of the time preparing 2 meals one for them and one for us)
2- We started running together each morning.
3- We eliminated all liquids from our house except for Water and freshly juiced fruits/veggies.
4- We eliminated all sugar and bread from our house.
5- We eliminated all processed food.
6- Meals are now portions of eggs, chicken, fish, or pork, with all the fruit and veggies they desire.
7- We started a weekly Saturday Hike tradition.
8- We started walking to church and scouts.
9- We prepare snacks for the hikes and camping trips with the above limitations in mind.
What are the outcomes of these and other changes? Our expenses have gone down dramatically, we don’t have sugar or grains of any kind in our house, our kids are more active, chronic illnesses like skin conditions, headaches, and allergies have all decreased, and there is a general peace in our home that has not existed since we started having children.
We do not preach to our kids about diet and exercise ever! We only strive to make our own correct choices. Always open for when the kids ask us questions to provide answers in a simple understandable manner. We always focus on the brightness in their lives, always compliment their achievements, always cheer them on, always tell them how beautiful and strong they are, and always love them.
To hear that my Skye had that simple conversation with Amy brightened my day. I love that the small changes we have made along the way have culminated in to huge changes, and that they are starting to pay dividends for my children.
My name is Travis and I love my family!