A Good, Hard Look

Last week was one of those weeks
that seem to be very reflective.
I feel like I was forced into taking
a good, hard look at my life,
my health,
and the health of my family.

The more I considered certain
habits and activites in our lives,
the more I felt like I uncovered
these little hidden monsters that had
taken up full time living arrangements
in our lives. And all these MONSTERS
were sabatoging my long term goals
of health and wellness.

It wasn't anything serious, mind you,
but just one of those weeks where
a lot of thought occupied my days-
probably more thought than productivity
I am sad to say.

I wrote a little bit about why I struggle to
keep sugary goodness out of my life here
At least it's one of many of my reasons
 
 But I started to think about the in's and out's
of how I raise my family.
Once I started looking,
I found that I still have a lot of room
for improvement.

First off, I give little treats for incentive
ALL the time-
this goes back to the early days of using
a sticker chart to motivate my first daughter
to potty train and continues today
with the clean house fairy.

I use the anticipation of treats as a way
to help one child overcome a personal
obstacle with what we call a "10 Sticker Date"
and I use treats as a way to celebrate all
manner of successes in our home!

Of course we celebrate holidays and birthdays

with some kind of dessert-

and when you add that up,
that's a lot of dessert in a every month!

I use cooking as a way to bond with my kids,

and a way to share what I love with others.

I like to socialize and host parties that range
from small and intimate,

to 'Over the Top' Huge,

and food is always a big part of that.

Above all of that,
I have treats in Christmas Stockings,
Easter Baskets and
as love notes at Valentines Day.
Add in Halloween, and there is SO much CANDY!
Do you know ANYONE who actually
ends up EATING all their candy??

Really it is CRAZY how much sugar we
have the opportunity to consume in our lives.

So one of my heavy, heavy, HEAVY
thoughts last week was,
if I am going to keep the sugary treats at a minimum
in our house,
I have to replace all of these habits and traditions
with something else.

Well have you seen the grocery stores and
the Walmarts and Targets of this world?
The first thing you see is a HUGE display of
holiday candy and treats! And seriously just
when one holiday ends,
another display goes up.
I am personally shocked they haven't
started to make President's Day colored
M&M's yet- I think that's the only holiday
that doesn't have its own candy display!

So how do I go about replacing all that sugar!
By now it is a habit. If I just all of a sudden quit
celebrating the holidays with stockings, baskets
and love notes, my kids aren't the only ones that
would feel a void and resort to mutiny-

I don't offer a lot of screen time- computer, TV,
or video games-
so that is one option.
But that seems like trading Satan for the Devil-
and doesn't sit really well with my heart!

I've decided love notes WITHOUT the candy
is a good alternative to some of the treat giving,
especially the treat giving that is for celebrations!
At the dinner table, we have implemented
a time to share the highlights of our day
and I am taking a little more time to celebrate
our persoanl successes.
And at holidays in baskets and stockings,
I have decided on healthy snacks that they
can eat whenever they want.

I have tried and really liked
having dessert only on Sundays,
and making this dessert REALLY worth it!
Not just boxed brownies and ice cream...
but chocolate molten lava cakes
& haagen daaz!
I like that and will probably return to that.

I don't think any of my motives are bad,
I just think that they have all gotten out of control.
I really feel like my bad habits are going
to turn into my children's bad habits and I feel
sick about that.
I feel sicker knowing that my bad habits
have contributed in part to my health struggles,
and though I feel incredibly blessed to enjoy
the health that I do have because I know it
could be a zillion times worse,
my desire is to empower my children to
greater health and wellness than I have-
not to teach them to follow in my unhealthy footsteps!
I have a doctor who believes
my changes today, will impact my childrens health tomorrow

I am wondering if all of the tangible rewards
we give to our children have taken a toll on
the natural self esteem boost
that kids should feel from a job well done?
And I am wondering if all the synthetic goodness
that we are offered constantly
has changed our ability to enjoy life in its
natural and pure form?
I guess I just wonder if all that I get
from the sugary treats in my life
is worth all that it takes!

For some reason,
I am a S-L-O-W learner,
maybe because I have so much I
am trying to reset,
but I just have to keep pushing forward
with what I have and what I can do.