Longing for the Butterfly Room

Don’t let this picture fool you, this is only after running around like a crazy, Caterpillar kid!

Soon after I started doing Child Care out of my home 20 years ago I read an article about physically demanding jobs that do little to nothing as far as exercise. Top of the list: you got it, child care. The article said doing child care was one of the worst things you could do for your health. Never mind all the runny noses and coughs in your face, it said most people (of course they meant most women) who care for children all day are too exhausted to exercise or eat properly. Lunch usually consisted of what ever was left on the kids’ plates. (When I read that I laughed, I thought I was the only one who did that). A few days later I went to a monthly meeting of my Child Care Association and apparently they read the same article because that was the topic for the evening. They talked about eating better, getting enough exercise and taking care of yourself as well as you take care of the precious little ones. I looked around the room and realized that most of the women (there were no men in the group) that had been doing this for a long time were overweight and tired looking. At the time I was 20 years younger and about 70 pounds lighter. I scoffed at the article and at their warnings. After all I was different. I made exercise for me part of my daily routine with the kids. Every morning together, me and the kids I cared for, worked out for 45 minutes with my favorite fitness guru. Richard Simmons would keep me slim and healthy. I wonder what ever happened to that tape?

So…I don’t know if kids are getting more active or if I’m just getting old, but today the 6 kids I had made the Caterpillar room look serene. I chased them. I carried them. I pushed them on the swing and I kept them from clubbing each other with plastic golf clubs. If that’s not exercise I don’t know what is. But I think I’m ready for the elliptical again.

Friday – Exercise – Chasing around the kids of the Caterpillar Room

• Breakfast – An orange, 1 cup of oolong tea with honey.
• AM Snack – 1 cup of oolong tea with honey.
• Lunch – 2 bowls of chicken noodle soup. (I know, I know, but it was Campbell’s Healthy Select so there was hardly any chicken in it at all and I’m running out of ideas on how to knock out this stupid cold or flu or whatever I have going. Hopefully chicken soup will do the trick.)
• PM Snack – a bag of popcorn, minus what the kids pilfered and a cup of NF yogurt
• Dinner – Snapper Jack’s Shrimp Burrito. (Hey, it’s not meat and I figure I already had the chicken today, might as well do all my non-vegetarian stuff in one day. Tomorrow back to the elliptical and salad for sure)