It's been months since I've posted, and mostly it's because I went through a miserable patch of pain that had me limiting every single activity except sitting on the couch and watching tv. This condition I had, known as Frozen Shoulder or Adhesive Capsulitis, was caused by poor ergonomic setup during computer use, so I avoided the computer whenever possible.
The good news is I came out of it like a bat out of hell. Once the pain was gone and my energy and stamina were back, even though I'm significantly limited in my shoulder mobility, I wanted to do everything and be everywhere at once. This also limited my computer time.
Another post-limiting development is that I am beginning to back away from concerns about my own child's obesity. I still wish I had intervened earlier and knew then what I know now, but there's only so much I can say about that. My child is not at a "normal" weight now, but he just looks like a 12 year-old linebacker with a deep voice and a soft moustache you can see in some lights. He is big. He is muscular. His belly is kind of big too but he is mighty. We went kayaking last weekend (see boy in striped shorts in picture to the left), even though my shoulder doesn't work (see: Bat Out of Hell energy) and he kayaked circles around me. This is because of the intense swim workouts as well as his body's natural tendency to be big and muscular.
He says there's nothing he can do about his weight. I don't agree. But at this point it's up to him. I do encourage him away from certain food choices and toward others, and he actually appreciates this. But he likes to eat--particularly simple carbs, he's a big guy, and I think, hope and pray he'll be okay. I know the odds are against his not being overweight as an adult. I wonder if the genetic cards were already stacked against him. I look forward to more research coming out about that. I also hope that as he matures he becomes more interested in his own health. Being such a good swimmer has been great for his self respect. So even though he's not at the "right" weight, I think he's a lot better off than he was this time last year, when he was just getting ready for camp.
Jan, too, is thinking less about childhood obesity. She's thinking about large, far-reaching issues and I look forward to discussing them here. I am going to let her articulate the reason for the blog title change because she explained it to me in an email so brilliantly.
1 comment:
Wow, Kelly, I wrote my entry before reading yours. Talk about stress falling on the shoulders of women. No pun intended! I am so sorry about your pain. I am so glad that you have come out of it. It is beyond metaphor for our time!
Interesting about your shift in attitude in your son's weight. My Sadie has continued to put on weight this winter and spring. It makes me sick for her, because I know that it is just that much harder to "do something" about it. All three of my girls and I had a chat yesterday about healthy weight. I expressed to them that my mom had me on a diet from 2nd grade on, and that I always told myself I wouldn't do that to them. But know I realize that I've done them a disservice because they don't know that they can influence their weight. I told them that they don't realize they can make choices and change their weight. We keep expanding our list of things we are deciding not to eat or limit. But Sadie and I need to sweat off a few pounds this summer, if nothing else, to show ourselves that we can!
Sadie also is becoming a very strong swimmer. Not the fastest, in fact she has yet to really getting into competition. But she is finding when they have little races at workout -- especially kick-board contests -- she is "winning", finding her strength. She is surprised and pleased.
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