In The Next 30 Days

Julia and I have an agreement. I’d call it a gentleman’s agreement-we shook on it-but neither of us are gentlemen. So maybe Julia and I have a princess agreement.

When we head out in the morning, kids in the double stroller, me behind sweating, she has to stay in her seat through the entire walk until we get back to our street. But the moment stroller tires reach our simple, quiet drive she unbuckles, slips out below the restraining bar, and can walk her way the last block to our street. It’s our routine. I walk and run off and on. Julia and I talk about what she sees along the street or the angel statues in the cemetery that we circle sometimes. “Angel Park” is what she calls it. She sings her bible songs from preschool (“This is the day, this is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made.”) But each time I turn right onto our street, she slips her arms free and her feet hit the pavement.

Since I’ve started these 30 Days, Julia’s one-block attitude has changed. She used to walk with me, close by the stroller, stopping to pick up pebbles or wave to our neighbors. She went softly and very girly home. But now, when she unbuckles and slips beneath the restraining bar, her feet slap the road and don’t stop. She races out of her stroller seat as if this, right now, this is the moment to capture, to race, to go. Each step echos her intention and enthusiasm. “I’ll race you Mommy.” She looks back over her shoulder to make sure I’m behind her. “I’m gonna win.” And as we race, her fists clench and pump and she runs a little faster.

But then she says something else. “I’m exercising, Mommy. I’m running for exercise.”

And then I get it. This healthy trip, these 30 Days of laying foundations aren’t just for me. It is about me feeling good, about finding the best way for my body to function. Yes. That’s a big part of it. But there’s more that Julia showed me as she raced away from me that morning, each step like a heartbeat. It’s about me setting this example, showing my children what healthy is and how to get there. It’s about me establishing healthy habits for me and for them. It’s not my own life I’m reforming, it’s the lives of my family as well.

I learn from my children. I know this. But sometimes, it surprises me just how much I learn.