Woman on a Mission

By Chris

This new emphasis on health around here seems to be serious . . . and here for the long-run. I often, in my mind and sometimes out loud, commit to getting my butt in gear. Several weeks ago, knowing that Teresa really controls anything that is successfully implemented in La Casa de Greens, I told her she was going to have to take control. Well, she has. And, with her, once she decides to run something, it is run with excellence. She's always been like this. She is "on point" when she's in charge. Tell her to recruit 1 volunteer, she'll get 10. The goal is to read 10 books: She'll make a kid read 100. So, there is no skipping the Y now. And, under her watchful eye, there's no getting off the treadmill or bike and "just hangin' out". She's got me working until I sweat. Really bad. It makes me a little sick to the stomach for a while, but then I feel great. We're also under some food restrictions for various reasons . . . health being one. She took that serious too. The cabinets are cleaned out. Fridge full of compliant foods. The kids are onboard too. Nick's even doing a bit of weight training. Of course, Ben is just toying with us. Half hour or more on the "Olymptical" machine (that's his term) at a very fast rate is no problem. He even does it backwards, which is almost impossible for me to even make my legs do. He follows it with intense treadmill and bike action too. And, as the rest of us drag our stinky selves out to the car, he's begging to go longer. The adults around him look at him and smile (some smirk, like, "you're really making me look bad here kid."). The other night he got beside this very thin and fit - looking man on a treadmill. We were behind on bikes watching him. He was spying the mans speed and incline settings and matching him. The man would look over and half giggle, sweating like crazy, and move his up a notch. Then Ben would top him. B was all out sprinting at an incline keeping pace with this dude, in perfect running form. Last night, Teresa introduced me to something wonderful. At another, much larger YMCA facility a little farther from home, they have all their exercise machines equipped with personal tv monitors. Bring your own headphones and you can watch whatever you want. They have cable on them and everything!! Amazing. This makes it much easier. I got through a couple of episodes of Reba and some Sportscenter last night. It really makes it go by quickly.

Thanks for getting us on track baby!!!