Funny how when you make a whole bunch of small changes they appear to be huge changes. In essence all journeys begin with a single step, then another, and another. This is truly how I can explain this journey for me to this point. Just putting one foot in front of the other and testing ground before settling and taking the next step. The steps taken maybe small but the impact of each has large and unexpected outcomes.
One of the goals of mine I have mentioned is the desire to be a better father. It is crazy because I didn’t set out to change my kids, because, like every parent should be I feel my kids are perfect. However, a topic mentioned in a documentary I watched was that 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 that it isn’t even funny: 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 decline health of the next generation, the change only takes one person. Remember the small steps lead to the huge journey.
So, Amy (my beautiful wife) and I decide to start making the small changes. First, we cut out grains, some of our family members think we’re crazy and at first our kids did too. Really what family doesn’t eat Cereal, Bread, Pasta, or Rice? Well, we don’t now, except for the one pizza night we give our kids (though even then we make our own healthy dinner that they are more than welcome to enjoy instead). Cutting out the grains also lead to cutting out dairy. Without cereal or pasta we had no need for milk or cheese. Dinners have become a portion of Fish or Chicken with a side of nice vegetables. Breakfasts are the good old eggs. If they are still hungry or do not feel like eating the Meat, Veggies, or Eggs, they are allowed to consume as much fresh fruit as their hearts desire. At first, man did they grumble… now however it is like a competition, who can eat all their food first.
Nutrition is not all, we need our kids to MOVE! So, we started involving them in our gardening efforts. We shoot hoops with them almost every day. On Saturdays, we go out for nature walks, hikes, to the track, or play some Racquetball at the High School courts that are open to the public. Once again when we first started this there was endless grumbling. Now the moment we wake up on Saturday they are wanting to know where our adventures will take them that day.
I do not even come close to calling myself a perfect parent, and totally rely on Amy’s help in all of this. But, because of the many small changes we have made the outcomes have been huge. We have fit, energetic, and happy kids full of life and asking for apples instead of cookies. Now what parent wouldn’t smile at that?
The title of this blog comes from a poem titled “Desire” from the following link: http://10000birds.com/the-poems-of-the-brown-headed-cowbird.htm. No author is mentioned for me to give props to. The reason I used this as the title, our last Saturday nature walk took us to Red Mountain Park in East Mesa (AZ) very early in the morning. There is a great little urban lake with a path to walk around it. We did a few laps and the birds were out in force, Ducks, Geese, Cranes, and little song birds galore. The highlight was a huge flock of Brown-Headed Cowbirds that were chatting up a storm and flying in crazy patterns from tree to tree. It was so awesome, and made me grateful for the changes we have made in our family, because had we not made those changes we would have not enjoyed as a family this awesome display of Nature.
My name is Travis and I am Fat. I am here to heal myself!