Now, some of you are saying I must be crazy because their child did just hop up and start toddling all around the house one day...
BUT, you forget. I am a mid-life crisis mom to a 16 month old son who is showing me exactly what the process of walking looks like.
And it's not just a move where perfection is achieved off the bat.
It's been a blast watching Ryan develop. To be honest, I'm humbled by it and honored to be able to take it all in. On his 9 month birthday he started doing the military crawl. At first it resembled a first week Private or Recruit in Basic Training. As he continued to crawl each day I'd say he climbed the ranks and was worthy of Master Sergeant Ryan Crawler title by the time he was walking around furniture, holding onto it. Then we started holding onto his fingers, teaching him how to walk.
Around Christmas, New Years and my birthday recently, Master Sergeant Ryan Crawler took his first steps. And by "first steps" I mean, he stood up, unassisted, letting go of the furniture. As the days passed his strength grew and he would take one step and sit back down. But, he certainly wasn't worthy, and isn't even today, of the title Master Sergeant Ryan Walker.
He's still a Private. Actually, to be honest, the kid's a Seaman Recruit. He's not puking or dizzy like a new boy on his first submarine, but he does resemble a drunk guy on his first free weekend.
Each day, though, he's training and getting better at walking. He's growing stronger. He's gaining confidence.
He falls.
He stumbles.
He has had a few wipe outs.
But he still gets up and tries, each day, about 77 different times each day. He tries. And as he does, I watch him, cheer him on, coax him with my open arms, his favorite books, lots of slobbery kisses and his sippy cup.
He smiles HUGE and starts toward me, one foot in front of (or kind of side to side) the other.
The point is: I'm doing the same thing here. I'm learning how to do this healthful living one choice at a time.
Not even one day at a time, but one choice at a time.
One foot in front of the other. As Ryan develops, I'm learning about life, just watching him.
Today I'd say I rank in the lower realm of the Sergeant sector.
Maybe by November 4th I'll be the Commander in Chief of my own health and body?! And even then, we all know, I won't be perfect ;)
(I'm juicing veggies, eating tons of salads with leans meat and veggies, and praying and filling my soul with Words that bring real life and nourishment. However, I'm still recovering from the holidays and my birthday where I indulged. Chocolate, honey/rosemary/chipotle pecans and red wine are some of my down falls lately. I'm learning moderation. Hey, at least I'm not eating Mexican chips for breakfast, lunch and dinner anymore! And that's one step in the right direction!)
Ryan recently discovered this drawer, which no longer houses my baking stones. He's also enjoying magnetic A,B,C's on the side of the fridge as he takes breaks from walking the halls of our house all day. Those were Em's navy boots when she was a babe. What? No. I don't bother wiping his mini fingerprints off my stainless. I'd be doing it non-stop.
Yea. I had to relearn how to walk i.e. healthy living, along the way and it was quite the challenge but very rewarding. My journey wasn't so much about food, but I can draw all the same parallels. Thanks for the good words.
ReplyDeleteI love that Private Ryan has on camos. Cute. Also, I don't know how to post a video other than uploading to youtube or vimeo and then embedding the code into the post. Its kind of a pain.
Karen, I didn't even think about the camos until I posted...cute ;) Thanks for the encouragement and also for the video info. Sure would be nice if it was just a one click option! Hope you and yours are well. Do you wanna walk in NYC?!
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