A Lesson in Perspective......
Macstraw
Posts: 896 Member
My 13 year old daughter inadvertently taught me a BIG lesson in perspective......
First a little background - I've been on MFP since January of 2013 & I've been trying to get healthier since before then, so this has been something that has become very important to me. It has helped stave off symptoms of a health issue & gotten me healthy enough to not have to worry (as much) about the typical age related things that can pop up if we don't take care of ourselves (heart disease, diabetes, etc.). My daughter (amongst her other activities) is on 1 of her school's Odyssey of the mind teams (Google Odyssey, it's an academic competition that fosters creative thinking - they do some REALLY cool stuff), by winning their regional competition & the New York state competition for their problem they have moved on to the World Finals being held in Ames, Iowa where they will compete against teams from all over the U.S. & the rest of the world....
Now for the lesson I learned - she had to go to school this morning for her first 2 classes, then a bus will take here, her team & their 2 coaches (my sister-in-law & niece), with the 2 other teams from our school district that made Worlds to the airport for their flight. My wife & I are going to drive out, we are leaving very early tomorrow morning (my son has his Scientific Research Symposium tonight or else we would leave today), so today was going to be my only day to make it to the gym to get my swim in (swimming is my main exercise, I do a LOT of yardage) & I wanted to make sure I got there because I don't know how big the pool at our hotel will be or whether I'll have room to swim laps. When she was going to bed last night she asked if she was going to see me today & my immediate response was "No, I have to get to the gym" & she said "OK, I'll see you in Iowa". I walked out of her room & it hit me that she had a look of disappointment on her face (although she tried to hide it) because I wouldn't see hr until Thursday (we'll get out there too late Wednesday night to be able to see her). It was then that I realized that 1 day at the gym was not going to make or break what I'm trying to do & I went back in to tell her that I would see her in the morning. She said to me "I don't want you to miss the gym, I know it's really important to you", but she seemed to really relax when I pointed out to her that she was far more important & that it was MY choice to not go....
Fast forward to this morning, when she woke up & saw me with a cup of coffee in the living room she smiled. That smile alone told me I made the right decision & I don't care if I don't get the chance to do any walking or anything else today - she's way more worth it to me.....
What she taught me is that, although there are things in my life that are important to me (& for the right reasons), family still needs family. She knows that she & her brother are the single most important things in my life but it was important to her for me to be here so that it would be 1 less day that we wouldn't see each other....
Sometimes it's amazing how much our kids can teach us, if only we take the time to see the lessons when they are put in front of us. I will continue to work on being healthy, but its OK to take time away for the more important things in our lives......
First a little background - I've been on MFP since January of 2013 & I've been trying to get healthier since before then, so this has been something that has become very important to me. It has helped stave off symptoms of a health issue & gotten me healthy enough to not have to worry (as much) about the typical age related things that can pop up if we don't take care of ourselves (heart disease, diabetes, etc.). My daughter (amongst her other activities) is on 1 of her school's Odyssey of the mind teams (Google Odyssey, it's an academic competition that fosters creative thinking - they do some REALLY cool stuff), by winning their regional competition & the New York state competition for their problem they have moved on to the World Finals being held in Ames, Iowa where they will compete against teams from all over the U.S. & the rest of the world....
Now for the lesson I learned - she had to go to school this morning for her first 2 classes, then a bus will take here, her team & their 2 coaches (my sister-in-law & niece), with the 2 other teams from our school district that made Worlds to the airport for their flight. My wife & I are going to drive out, we are leaving very early tomorrow morning (my son has his Scientific Research Symposium tonight or else we would leave today), so today was going to be my only day to make it to the gym to get my swim in (swimming is my main exercise, I do a LOT of yardage) & I wanted to make sure I got there because I don't know how big the pool at our hotel will be or whether I'll have room to swim laps. When she was going to bed last night she asked if she was going to see me today & my immediate response was "No, I have to get to the gym" & she said "OK, I'll see you in Iowa". I walked out of her room & it hit me that she had a look of disappointment on her face (although she tried to hide it) because I wouldn't see hr until Thursday (we'll get out there too late Wednesday night to be able to see her). It was then that I realized that 1 day at the gym was not going to make or break what I'm trying to do & I went back in to tell her that I would see her in the morning. She said to me "I don't want you to miss the gym, I know it's really important to you", but she seemed to really relax when I pointed out to her that she was far more important & that it was MY choice to not go....
Fast forward to this morning, when she woke up & saw me with a cup of coffee in the living room she smiled. That smile alone told me I made the right decision & I don't care if I don't get the chance to do any walking or anything else today - she's way more worth it to me.....
What she taught me is that, although there are things in my life that are important to me (& for the right reasons), family still needs family. She knows that she & her brother are the single most important things in my life but it was important to her for me to be here so that it would be 1 less day that we wouldn't see each other....
Sometimes it's amazing how much our kids can teach us, if only we take the time to see the lessons when they are put in front of us. I will continue to work on being healthy, but its OK to take time away for the more important things in our lives......
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Replies
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That's awesome! I know that sometimes things like family can be an "excuse" not to exercise/commit; but you have clearly demonstrated that you have the commitment. And your daughter probably would have understood if she hadn't seen you, BUT you're right: her smile was more important today. It's nice that she knows how much you value your health/fitness, but it sounds like she got to see that you rightly value her more. Good luck to both of your kids in their competitions!0
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Nice reminder, good post.0
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Like0
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Great post!0
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Well said, I enjoyed reading your post.
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:flowerforyou:
Very sweet.0
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