July 6, 2012 - A Heavy Family

It's Friday and my daughter's 33rd birthday. :) When we all say, "time flies," I would also add, "and waits for no one." Birthdays come and go but should really serve as our reminder to do a "self-check." You know in January everyone checks the batteries in their smoke alarms. On our birthdays, our car tags and insurance come around. There really is something to be said for annual self-examination. For us, the longer we wait to embrace a healthy journey - the harder the end of our life could be. I don't remember as a child having my mom discuss with me the value that healthy eating played on my heart, skin, or hair. But let's just say - I am SOOO doing that with my daughter and granddaughters now. Mackenzie and Kailey need to start sooner than later, so they won't be scrambling as I was at 53 to get on the path. :) Foods play such an important part in this journey. Scientist are finding that lots of red and yellow colored fruits and veggies improve our skin tone and color, citrus fruits (choose mildly acidic ones) can actually cause skin to be more radiant (especially under the eyes) and rosemary aids in memory. God knew what he was doing when he wanted us to be healthy. We just have to take the time to select the right foods and get them into our bodies. Natural medicine has been around since the beginning of time. WHY do we pay so much for the scientifically generated ones when there are other options??? I heard someone saying, "just loosing 5-10 pounds can make such a big difference in diabetics and so few can lose that." It broke my heart! The journalist went on to announce that something like 65% of all children are in the heavy and obese range. HELP ME! I know we can't change everyone, but we can change our families. We might not lose 100 pounds (unless your name is Cheryl), but 5-10 pounds to help with diabetes???? YES! When I heard this doctor say that parents who "let their children be heavy" are setting them up for a life time of failure and disease - again, my heart was moved. We don't want bratty children, so we discipline them. We don't want lazy children, so we train them. But it's okay to have overweight/obese children and "someday when they're older they can fight this fight????" NO! Can we all embrace change? YES! Can we all embrace a healthy journey? YES! When we shop for the weekend - let's fill our buggy with color, help our skin tone and memory and set a platform for our family and their families to live long, productive lives! PK