 | Diary Navigation:
|
November 25, 2003
***Faster, higher, stronger***
The diary of another MT writer, Kristi, was the inspiration for this entry. For those who haven't read Kristi's diary, check it out; she (IMHO) does a wonderful job of conveying her life as a woman, mother and athlete. I can't compete with her in the Ironman or the New York City marathon, but I can try to write about the role physical activity plays in MY family.
"Mama, I love to run!" Andrei takes my hand and sprints full speed ahead. We run a block, two blocks, sometimes puching the air, sometimes panting loudly and cracking ourselves up, we run a third block and take a break. "Let's run again!" he says after a minute or two, grabs my hand and away we go! Andrei really does love to run, just like I do.
"One, two, three, five, seven." Anna, feet on the couch, hands on the ground is counting off the pushups she's doing with Dima as part of their morning exercises. Then they get up and stretch, Anna puts a leg up on the armchair and stretches her head to her knee.
"Mama, look, we're firefighters!" The kids have scrambled up 8-foot metal ladders on the playground and are pretending to put out a fire. The other adults on the playground are watching in horror as Dima and/or I calmly stand at the base of the ladder and cheer our little firefighters on.
"Turn on the music, mama." Andrei's at preschool, and Anna and I are dancing around the living room to Tchaikovsky. They're both bothering me to take them to the theatre to a real ballet. That will have to wait, though.
"Mama, let's fight!" Andrei puts out his hands for me to help me put on his boxing gloves. He and I box while Anna punches the punching bag we have in our living room.
Dima and I are former athletes. Dima was an aspiring young boxer until he began moving up the corporate ladder and had to choose: boxing or banking. Would you trust your money to a guy with a broken nose, bruised knuckles, a cracked lip and a black eye? Dima decided to stay in banking.
I am a former ballet dancer. I was good but not great. I had talent, a phenomenal jump and mediocre physical characteristics. My hips are too wide and my legs too short to advance past the second row of the corps de ballet (you know those swans in Swan Lake that stand in the background waving their arms and holding various poses, that was me!). When I turned 25, I realized that I'd fulfilled my little girl's dream, and now I needed to move on, make money, have a family.
Though Dima and I are "retired" from boxing and ballet, we haven't lost our love of physical activity. I go to the gym about 4 times a week to do high-impact dance aerobics, work with a personal trainer, or run 10 kilometers on the treadmill. In the 2 or so months of the year when it's possible, I run outside. A couple of times a week, Dima goes to the boxing gym and does their workout. He also runs.
Dima's day starts with morning exercises; stretching, situps and pushups. Nobody tells Anna and Andrei to participate, but often they do. We dance, we run and climb outside, we shovel snow (especially the kids, who LOVE to dig!!) and push the kids on their sleds (and they push each other). I think the kids see that we are active, that we enjoy sports and they pick up on that enthusiasm. I think they like the feeling of being fast, strong, of climbing high, being a little afraid, but overcoming their fear and feeling yet stronger. And for my part, I am so lucky that Andrei and Anna love to be active. There is nothing, and I mean it, nothing like the feeling of Andrei taking my hand and running with me.
***Most things are fine in moderation***
Another MT writer, Corinne, addressed the issue of juice for toddlers. I was smiling and nodding the whole time and she's pretty much summed up my opinion on the issue, so go read her diary! From what I've heard from my American friends and from what I've read, many American pediatricians seem to think juice is to toddlers what cigarettes are to teenagers. Here in backward Russia, pediatricians recommend giving juice as babies' first non-breastmilk(formula) "food/drink.", somewhere around 4 months. Andrei and Anna began having juice (1/3 juice 2/3 water) around the age of 1. I have drunk juice (not watered down, either) almost every day since the age of 4 months, and at the ripe old age of 32, have never had a cavity nor a weight problem.
Andrei and Anna have begun asking to go to restaurants. "Mama, when can we go to a cafe?" was Anna's question of the week last week, until finally on Saturday, we took her to a cafe for the first time in her life (the first time in Andrei's life had been 2 months earlier), where she had a blin (like a crepe) with a teeny tiny bit of strawberry jam on top and ... UH OH, shhh, don't tell anyone ... a juice box with a STRAW. She and Andrei were in 7th heaven. Again, the fact that there's very little marketing to children here in Russia saves us. Neither has asked to try "fast food", which I try to avoid the way others might avoid juice (though I probably wouldn't leap across a room and tear a french fry out of my kid's hand, since they're gonna try them sooner or later anyway.)
I'm trying to let my kids have the occasional piece of candy, hot dog (they are CRAZY about hot dogs), and if you've been reading my entries from the beginning, Wagon Wheel. It goes against my nature, I'm actually a very uptight, type-A, rigid person, but I am trying to convince myself to believe in moderation . I'm trying to be more flexible about bedtimes, too. Since Dima began his new job this summer, he hasn't been home by the kids' bedtime very often, and the kids and I have changed the routine a little. They have their bedtime milk or kefir (a sour milk drink), a muffin or bread and cheese and their vitamin, take a shower, get into their pyjamas. If we have time, we read a book, and then I lie down with them on Andrei's bed. Last night, Anna lay right on top of me, she put her head on my shoulder and was falling asleep, Andrei was lying beside me, and I just didn't want the moment to end.
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it. We don't but I have a lot to be thankful for!
Warm regards,
Lisa
 |  |
|
want to keep a diary on iParenting?
Authoring a diary on the iParenting network allows you to chronicle your family's story, preserving it for years to come. It's also a great way to get the most out of the iParenting community. Click here to start...
|
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families. 
