My reasons - Keeping on, keeping on

This right here, this is one of the reasons I give a crap about anything.



And this.



This is very important.



I used to think that people were being cheesy and melodramatic.  "I need to be a good example for my kids", "I need to make sure I'm around for my kids when they grow up".

Really?  I couldn't imagine that my kids were so tune to what I was doing.  Until I had put on so much weight and I saw my oldest start to put on a lot of weight too.  Until I realized I spent more time in a chair than in the sun and I saw my kids doing the same.

Until the night just a week ago when I was tucking my littlest into bed and he looked up at me with his arms still around my neck and said "Mom, I'm so proud of you for working AND running and being healthy.  That is a lot of work."



And then it all kind of clicked in my head.  Of course, to some degree I am doing a lot of this for myself.  When I push hard and do all of the meal tracking and activity monitoring  I do it for myself.  I want to be healthier.  I'd love to be thinner.  I like that endorphin rush that comes after a grueling workout.  I'm crazy about my pants falling down for the first time in years.

But I love my family.  I love my kids, and my husband, and my friends and family like a ravenous and insatiable monster.  And I think I get it, I really do want to be there for them for a long time.  I want to build memories that hinge around exploring new environments and pushing ourselves to our limits to grow bigger and stronger rather than that funny thing from a TV show last night.  I want us to all look back at our time together and think about how full it was.



Full of growing.  Full of challenges.  Full of laughter.  Full of hard questions and full of looking for answers together.

And caring about your health is part of that.  You can't grow your mind or your spirit without cultivating your body.