EnJOY the Walk

Have you ever been on a hike - or driving to a new place - and felt like it took FOR-E-VER to reach your destination; but then, on the trip back, it seemed to go SO MUCH FASTER?!?!?  I have! ALL. THE. TIME.  Why?  Because the anxiety of the unknown in front of you is so consuming.  But when you come back, that anxiety is gone.  You are headed to something familiar.

The problem is in the post-trip experience.  How often do you remember the markers you passed on the way?  What feelings and smells and sounds and images come to mind when you think of the trip into that destination point?  For me, a lot gets lost in the anxiety of the unknown road ahead and wanting to just get there, just BE there, not wondering how much further or what obstacles (traffic jams, road construction, T's in the road that could take me the wrong direction, nightfall) I will face in the process.
 
Today I read a friend's post on Facebook about how her little boy just said his first two-word sentence.  It not only made me smile, but it reminded me of so many days when I find myself mentioning to my husband a connection one of the kids made that really impressed me or taught me something about what they think about.  Or I find myself telling him about how much they have changed in just a few weeks in really BIG ways, ways that you might miss if you weren't watching, listening, tuning into their "childspeak," and really just PAYING ATTENTION.

And it also reminded me of how many days I went the entire day without noticing a thing, ANXIOUS to just get through it.

On "My Fair Lady," Freddy sings, "I have often walked down your street before, but the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before. All at once am I several stories high, knowing I'm on the street where YOU live!" How often we walk the exact same street . . . every. single. day. No variation. No new horizon. No curves to have anxiety about, or maybe so many curves that all we feel at times is anxiety. :-)  

But for each of us, that daily road can take on new meaning as we remember what is happening along it, just as Freddy did.  ANY "street" at any time can be the street of your dreams, given the right perspective.

Be the road ahead uncertain or be it familiar -- be it a trail through the forest, a country road, a city road, the mall, the road leading to work, the road to the park, or wherever else your feet may lead you -- there are millions of things to see and discover and enJOY along the way.

And the roads of a child's life, a child's mind, a child's experiences, and a child's memories are even more amazing.

But both require you to stop. Quiet the anxiety. Look up instead of down at your feet.  See the straight road that leads to the curve and not just the curve that lies ominously ahead of you or the pebbles and cracks you are worried about stumbling over along the journey.

And ENJOY the WALK!

Health: It's a Matter of "DO"-ing

How many times in life do we need a shift in thinking - a change in our focus? EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. OVER. HERE. LOL! And we hope that you will find those shifts in thinking for yourselves here at The Mommy 15. 

Today, I wanted to talk briefly about a shift in thinking about food.  So often, people tell you what you shouldn't eat.  Don't eat sugar, don't eat carbs, don't eat processed foods, don't eat after 7:00 at night, whatever it might be.  It's generally focused around DON'TS.

But it has been my experience that when I focus on the DO'S instead of the DON'TS, I get a lot farther and feel a lot better.  Check this out:

Most of us grew up with the Food Guide Pyramid, which we may - or may not - have paid enough attention to that we could actually talk about it, quote from it, etc.  HOWEVER, with the obesity and downward trends in health in the United States today compared to even 50 years ago, the government has revised the food guide pyramid to show us simply a PLATE and what should be on that plate at each meal:
 

If you take a salad-sized plate and divide it in half - on one half, you should have 1/2 grains (about 1/2 of a cup of most grains) and 1/2 protein (3-4 ounces).  On the other half, you should have 1/4 fruit (a small apple, 1/2 cup of other fruits) and 3/4 vegetables (1 cup raw, 1/2 cup steamed).  And then add in a side of dairy.  For small children, the same visual applies, the plate - and therefore the servings - would just be smaller/adjusted accordingly.  It's GENIUS, really!


If you look at the MyPlate.gov guidelines, American people should be the healthiest people alive!  Why aren't we?  Because we just don't sit down and DO what our bodies need us to do in order to protect them!  We don't like it when someone says that we shouldn't eat this or drink that because our bodies, quite frankly, are so used to being UNhealthy that they crave the things that make us fat, sick, unable to think clearly, and unhappy.

But - since it can be overwhelming to think of all the changes we need to make when we focus on cleaning out our cupboards and re-visiting our pantries and fridges, think instead of what you SHOULD eat in a day and start ADDING those things to your diet.  And once you get all of the "DO" things in, know what?  You probably won't WANT the "DON'TS" because your body will be so SATISFIED by what it has eaten!

Here's a little DIY Activity I made up in college that really helped me - and it's something you can get the ENTIRE family involved in:
1) Take two regular-sized envelopes and tape the backs together so that the openings are facing out and open. Don't tape the flaps together, just the backs.
2) In a document, create a word strip for every serving of food you SHOULD eat in each meal for the entire day.  Do a little research for each member of your family - the recommended amounts are based on age, gender, and physical activity.  For example, a 25-year-old female needs 2 cups of fruit a day, so since 1/2 cup is one serving, she would have four strips of paper that each said "fruit" on them. She also needs 2 1/2-3 cups of vegetables a day.  So three strips of paper that each said "vegetable" on them.
3) Below the opening on one envelope, write the word "EAT" or "DO"; on the opening of the other envelope, write the word "ATE" or "DONE".
4) Place all of the word strips in the "EAT" side.
5) As you plan and eat meals throughout the day, move ALL of your word strips to the "ATE" side BEFORE you eat anything NOT in the envelope.
6) Hang the envelope on the refrigerator so you remember and can easily access it when you are hungry/want to eat something.

You can have each family member decorate their envelope however they want - and even their strips of paper, so they won't get lost.  I also laminated my strips of paper and covered my envelopes with tape so they would last longer.  It's a fun, easy way to switch the focus to what you are "DO"-ing instead of what you shouldn't be!

You can make it a family game - or a competition between you and your spouse or one of your children.