A losing battle worth having

Somewhere around the time my kids were 8 and 10 years old, I realized something:

My dad always had time to be interested - or feign interest - in what I was doing.

I didn’t realize it way back then, but later in life when I had become a parent myself, I came to understand he wanted to be involved in my life (lucky me and boy do I mean that). So, he tried to learn about the things which held my attention or if not that, certainly come watch.

I recognize some may say they would prefer their parents not follow their interests. After all,

parent/child relationships are all over the map. But in my case, my dad’s interest

in me was nothing but a blessing. I was always happy to hear what he thought and if we

had more in common rather than less, that was a good thing.

For example- Whoever my favorite athletes or sports teams were, well those were his too (he came

from Idaho so I am confident in thinking he didn’t have any childhood loyalties to the

Illini, St. Louis Cardinals or Chicago Bears).

Did I want to learn about football or baseball or golf? Well then so did he.

Did I have a game coming up? He’d be there.

When I was learning piano, he often sat nearby while I practiced (what an awful

experience that must have been - sheesh).

Over the course of my teenage years, my concerns- if not flat out fear– with flying were changed to a love for it. This came through many conversations with Dad about flying, watching him fly and him not being able to hide how it enthralled him.

“I need to go exercise the airplane” he would tell my mom on a given Saturday morning. Well maybe…or maybe he just wanted to go fly. Dad didn’t love things, but he loved his airplane.

Here’s a truly “old school” picture of him with his first airplane-

The single biggest paradigm shift in my life came the very late night (errr....early morning) I myself became a father.

Holding my daughter Mandy as a newborn– a brand new gift to Becky and I- it was as if someone had pushed me up against a wall and informed me there was something more important than me in this world (and that feeling would never leave). I had similar feelings when CG was born, but at least with his arrival I was mildly prepared.

Fast forward several decades and along comes my first grandson – Rory. His birth brought not exactly the same sense of love and caring, but rather a love with an understanding I will be more of a helper in his life than a steward. Now, that is not meant to sound self-deprecating; I wouldn’t want him to be raised by anyone other than his own two wonderful parents.

With Rory's arrival, another thought has crossed my mind: There is a time limit on how long I get to be in his life. Yes, he’ll grow, become a teenager, a young adult, etc. and while Rory's interest in me during those phases may vary, I still hope to see all of it.

But I also recognize the average life expectancy in the USA is 79 (75.8 for men). I can do that math…76 isn’t that far away…assuming I’m average. Even if I were to prove myself above average, you're still telling me I don’t get to live forever...that realization hits hard.

And while I have come to terms with that reality (mostly), I have decided the next best option is to try my best to put off the inevitable for as long as I'm able to do so. Perhaps you are in similar circumstances and desire to do the same.

I have been interested in fitness since I was teenager and as an adult, have fancied

myself knowledgeable. The more I have learned though, the more I realize there’s so

much I don’t know.

Be that as it may, I hope for my contributions to this blog to not be preachy, but rather a sharing of what I have learned (with some opinions and insights thrown in of course).

I'm inspired to make this contribution for two reasons:

1. The health and wellness space is CROWDED. Maybe it will help to have someone simplify what’s out there and also weed out the nonsensical parts.

2. My son says he is tired of reading his own writing every week.

So here I am.

As we move forward, I’ll speak to what activities and training theories I think are better

than others , but in front of all that, I can tell you from the beginning what the best activity is:

Whatever you will consistently go do.

What are you willing to do for 5 days a week 30 minutes each time? Start there and start now.

For those of you further along your fitness journeys, are you tied up in one arena? Are you only working toward your next 5k or marathon? Are you only lifting weights?

Stay tuned as I plan to have information and insight for all who want to improve their health and fitness.