Following His Footsteps

Raise your hand if you get up two hours before work every morning to exercise. Raise your hand if your children or spouse do. Keep hands raised if both apply. Seeing no hands...

So this morning my lovely dog, Louie, woke me up at 6:20a to go outside and use the bathroom. Being the chirpy morning person I am, I jumped out of bed, brushed my teeth, fixed my hair, put on my contacts, and skipped him down the Main Street sidewalk in front of our house. Okay, okay, it didn't happen exactly like that. So maybe I grumbled at him, put on my (two-inch thick) glasses and stumbled down the stairs barefoot to walk him. It was still pretty dark outside (a clue to him that it was still sleepy time), and I'm pretty blind (glasses are old) so it shocked me to hear footfalls behind me on the sidewalk as we were turning back to my house. Paranoia, partly due to my reporting days, and partly because of my previously-blogged-about overactive imagination, immediately overtook me. I turned to see who was running fast at me and was surprised by the sweetness of what I saw.

My neighbor, father of two, out jogging, while his middle school aged son rode his bike behind him. When I used to host the morning radio show on the square I would see them, too, but this morning it really hit me as to how sweet that is. We all know how hard it is to get up in the mornings, and especially for middle schoolers! But, here they were, out bonding over the early-morning exercise.

Said Dad works hard, then I see him doing yard work, or playing with the kids in the yard, or grilling...pretty sure it's tempting for him to hit the snooze. But, maybe his motivation isn't just staying fit, it's spending that time with his baby boy. It may sound silly, but I bet this boosts his son's sense of self and will help him succeed in life. So, fellas, listen up, women look for men who will be good Dads. It's so important!

I remember when my Dad used to ask me to play catch with him in the front yard. I secretly dreaded that question because I just knew the ball would knock out one of my perfectly braced teeth or shatter one of my four eyes. I knew I would miss the ball or not have the strength to throw it far enough. He knew that, too. But, since he wasn't a cheerleader (picture that!), it was the only way he knew to bond with me. It was that time together that was important.

This all hit me this morning when I saw my neighbor (whose yard is Louie's favorite for pottying...shhh!) exercising, with his son literally following in his footsteps. What a great example!