Play With A Purpose

When my oldest son was little, I was envious of the "bench moms" who seemed to be able to sit and read or talk while their children played at the park. My son was accustomed to me playing with him, so he expected it, and so I did it. Well, while my oldest is now 17, my youngest son is 4, and I do take him to the park - but I have become a bench mom. But - this has definitely added to my fatness and laziness.
So, maybe I was wrong all those years ago. Maybe the bench moms were not to be envied - maybe they envied me my energy, stamina and ability to crawl through tunnels and slide down slides without getting worn out. Well, I will never be in my 20s again, but I can be an active park mom again. I will leave my book, computer and (shuddering) cell phone behind - and play with my kids. This kills two birds with one stone - I will get exercise, and I will get "quality time" with my babies.
I am dedicated to making one healthy change per week.  Last week I gave up coffee, and this week I am going to give up the park bench.  How I went from the woman who crawled through Discovery Zone tunnels with babies and toddlers to the woman I am now, I am not quite sure - but I am sure that I want to reverse that process.  I think one of the worst things about being fat and lazy is that I don't have energy to play with my kids.
I don't think it will be easy - I'm glad I have my boys to keep me going.  They have plenty of energy and enthusiasm, so I'm sure they'll make great personal trainers.  I am sure that if I give them permission to keep me off the bench they will go at it with gusto - and they can be pretty brutal, so I will quickly lose interest in the bench - if only to avoid physical punishment.

OK - well gotta go pull on my spandex pants and tennis shoes - I'm heading for the park  Talk to you tomorrow