Perks & Weekly Check In October 20

I teach! Therefore, I don't make a lot of money, but there are a lot of perk that come along with the job.  This was brought home by the events of last night. This journey I'm now on has a few perks as well!!!!!!!

Teaching Perk #1 - I get to hang out with 12 year olds everyday.  This truly keeps me young at heart!

FFFM Perk # 1 - A truly healthier Heart!

Teaching Perk # 2 - I get to influence the lives of said 12 year olds  (this may scare some of you that truly know me) and seeing them develop into mature, productive members of our society! Truth be told many times I learn as much from them as they learn from me!

FFFM Perk #2 - I get to motivate people with my successes and gain their support when I falter.  I also have more energy to keep up with said 12 year olds.

Teaching Perk # 3 - Getting to experience the monumental life moments of those students you have come to call your own: graduations, weddings, new jobs, Kids of their own.  The joy that comes from seeing their joy is endless.

FFFM Perk # 3 -  Knowing that I will have a better chance of being around to see these events in my very own children's live and their children's lives makes the hard work worth it!

Teaching Perk # 4 - Time- having the experience I have and the schedule I have allows me time to be a Future Former Fat Man. 

FFFM Perk # 4 - Time - Spending time becoming a Future Former Fat Man allows my students and my own girls to see me set and achieve goals, becoming an example they can hopefully follow.

This list could go on and on and on and on - especially if I included being married to a well known blogger/author, but I will stop here. But I do pose a question to you.  What are your perks?  Let me know. I would love to hear!

Here's my week:  6 days till the Tulsa Run!

 

Strong Kids - Strong Families -- Weekly Check In Aug 17

Wow! and Wow again!  Yesterday was awesome.  I watched my younger daughter along with 130ish other kids do the Strong Kids Youth Triathlon in Owasso, OK.  The event was well organized and everyone was so supportive of all the kids.  Parent, volunteers and participants alike all cheered on each and every kid along the way as they swam 100 meters, biked 3 miles and then ran a mile.

 A big shout out to the Owasso YMCA and Bailey Medical Center for the great job they did hosting this event.  It was inspiring to watch all the kids (most with huge smiles on their faces) as they took on this feat.   This is why I love the sport of Triathlon.  Yes, I know people want to win, but the sport of triathlon is more introspective. It's about being a better self about competing against the distance. It's about perseverance. It's about supporting your fellow athlete.  One of my favorite things to do now is watch full circle videos produced by Ironman.  They tell inspirational stories of the athletes and then show segments of the race including the last hour or two of the race with Mike Reilly telling everyone you are an Ironman.  One of the coolest things I have ever  I witnessed in sports was in one of these videos. A triathlete gave his hard earned  finisher metal to a participant that missed the cut off time by just seconds.   It is awesome watching the intimate moments as those individual cross the finish line.  I got that same feeling watching the kids cross their finish yesterday.  Four miles or 140 the fact that they set a goal and achieved it.  That is the point.  I will now go for a swim!

My week was good.  Lost 3 lbs and felt strong all week.  I love my new schedule.  I was able to work out most mornings.  While still taking my daughter to school and picking her up.  It was awesome!

The Power of Desire

The gym where I just canceled my membership for several reasons that I will not get into online does have a pretty cool Facebook page where they post various inspirational messages and quotes.  This weekend they had a quote that has come to be a mantra I use to focus.

Don't give up what you want most, 

for what you want now!

So what do I want most?  I want to live long enough to see my beautiful girls have families and careers of their own, I want to see my wife with gray hair (did you just hear everyone of her MVM fans laugh in unison), I want to ride a roller coaster with my dare devil daughter, I want to ride a horse with my not so dare devil daughter, I want to have the sense of accomplishment of starting what I finish.  I want to LOVE life and embrace the challenges it throws at me everyday.

This new mantra kept me in check this weekend at the family reunion.  Did I skip the burgers? No! but I only had one. Not my typical two burgers plus all the extras:  beans, chips, brownies, bags o' cookies.  Did I skip the deserts? No! but I only had three bites of the Pineapple crumble.  Did I maintain this will power through my wife's get together with her New LTYM (Listen To Your Mother) family get-together? No, but they brought peach pie and that was just not fair, but no panic, today was right back on the health wagon and focusing and the items in the paragraph above.   The power of that desire and you, people of the world wide web, will hold my heart accountable.

I know I have put a metaphorical elephant on my plate with my goal of an Ironman, but everyone knows how to eat an elephant, right.  One bite at a time.  My first bite is to continue walking/swimming till I am in the 3's (Hundreds that is) then begin the couch to 5K for the Tulsa run or the Jingle Bells for Basal Cells 5K! Because THAT is what I want most in the short term!!