Project 52 | Lesson 8
Try new things.
Even if they scare you.
No, not if they scare me. It’s still a bad idea to walk on the roof of the playset. That will give me a heart attack. But trying new foods, new activities, new places– all those things are good even when you’re afraid of them.
Molly’s face tells the story. The bottom right picture shows her expression as we gathered around to watch her first bite of food. My kids have all made the most amusing faces for their first solid foods but Molly always wears a particularly expressive look and this time it said “What on earth are you doing now?” So she tasted her sweet potatoes– I guess you could now call that our family tradition first food. And she LOOOOOOOOOOVED them! She not only wanted to keep eating but she grabbed A’s hand and brought the spoon to her mouth as if to say “hurry up Daddy I want more!” In fact just 3 days in to the solid food thing she’s already finishing the container and wanting more and this makes me very happy since she’s not even on the growth chart anymore and spits up her milk so often that it’s a wonder she’s gaining weight at all. This just might save us all (and yes, no nasty emails, I know she still needs breastmilk and no I’m not replacing it yadda yadda yadda).
So back to you kiddos… let this be a lesson for ya! Trying new things is a good thing. I can tell you that until I run out of breath but if your baby sister can handle it, I’m sure you older ones can too! Now go eat some squash or something!
In other news, I have stepped outside my comfort box a few times recently. I’ve taken on the SAHM thing as more than just being home to raise the kids. I figure, I have time now to try new things so I might as well try them (I don’t want nasty emails about this either. I have time and I consider this job “easier” because I used to be a teacher and if you went from 10-12 kids down to 3 you’d think it was pretty easy too). Seize the day and all that good stuff. So I did C25K (Couch to 5K is a program for people who are way out of shape and gradually prepares you to be able to run a 5K) and not only did it help me lose almost all the rest of the baby weight but I am in better shape than I have been in close to 4 years and I’m very happy about that. But I don’t really like running. I ran track in high school and probably thought about quitting more than a few (million) times during the season. I am slow. Very very slow. But yesterday I ran my first 5K and I didn’t die, didn’t come in last place, and ran 99% of the time without stopping. In fact the only time I stopped was because I dropped my phone and I’m pretty sure any logical person would stop to get their phone back. I’m happy with myself not just for completing it but more so because I did something that made me uncomfortable to try. I did it for me but I also did it for my kids so they would see that trying new things isn’t just for kids, it’s for adults too. Sometimes leading by example is the hardest thing you can do as a parent and other times it’s the easiest. This time it was an easy one. 🙂
Until next time…
Mommy