Speaking of food. . .

Since my last post, I thought I should throw myself equally under the bus. . .

I grew up eating Swanson's Turkey TV dinners, Spaghettios, a lot of red meat and unlimited supplies of Coca-Cola. To say I was a Coca-Cola addict would be a huge understatement. I hated milk, I hated water, it was pretty much Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper and juice.   Oh yes, and my favorite thing to do driving home from high school was to stop at the local 7 11 and get a Coca-Cola filled to the top with ice and a bag of M&Ms. Such a healthy girl, wasn't I? Yet, weight wasn't an issue for me until college - go figure.

I am a short woman, very short in fact. For many years now, I've been telling my boys that I was so short because I ate so horribly and drank Coca-Cola instead of milk while I was growing and I would be damned (well darned to them) if I let them make the same mistake. Only, the problem here is that genetically speaking, no matter what I would have done, being short was in my cards. Maybe, I could have eked out a couple more inches, maybe, but shortness is who I am and nothing wrong with that. I've been realizing that I need to tweak my message to the boys as the youngest one keeps asking why he is the shortest boy in 2nd grade when he always tries to make healthy choices. He is pretty good about it really. Oh no, what have I done.

So, we talked about exactly this topic. That genetically speaking, they are going to be short and they are beautiful, smart, kind, giving people and height is just a part of who they are physically and means nothing else than that. That eating right and getting lots of good sleep will help them grow to their fullest potential, and that is the goal for a healthy life on all fronts, to make choices to reach our fullest potential in all ways. That is a more accurate message, a more healthy message and one I wish I would have thought about much sooner. And, so it goes.