5 lessons from my dad

My dad is the reason I started running. He spent most of his career as a 5^th grade teacher, but his love was Physical Education. He got his Masters in it, and I was the test subject for his thesis. In a box somewhere are hours of 8mm film spools of three year-old me climbing ladders, jumping off boxes and tumbling around our living room. He was passionate about getting kids excited about being physically fit. Growing up in that environment, playing sports wasn’t something I ever thought about doing…it was just what I did.

      The gym teacher and his test monkey.

Sometime in the late 70s, my dad caught the running bug. It became his lifestyle. He wore tall socks and track jackets, grew a beard and basically became the fashion plate for every hipster in 2013. He’d head to the track, run to work a couple days a week, and enter every race in the area. He actually proposed to my stepmom during one of those races. And, probably coolest of all, he started a race at the school where he taught to raise funds for their gym and playground equipment. That race has been going on for well over 30 years now, and the top elementary school boy and girl finisher now receive the Jim Hoyer memorial trophy.

My dad would have been 73 today. His birthday always makes me think about him, of course. But it also causes me to think a lot about health, fitness and diet. My dad died at age 58, on the track at the same school he started that race at years earlier. He never stopped exercising and always looked really fit and healthy. But my dad also had diabetes, which, by even his own account, he was pretty inconsistent at managing. He’d get wrapped up in a project in the garage for hours and forget to eat or check his blood sugar, and he always did have a sweet tooth. Most of us have bodies that can handle that, but those habits resulted in complications that ultimately lead to his heart attack.

I miss my dad a lot, even now. And on this day more than any other, I think back on things he said, things we did, and the way he lived his life. In the spirit of this blog, this year I’ve decided to look for some lessons in those memories that might help me find that healthy balance I’m looking for. Here are five strong lessons that I’ve learned from my dad and the amazing, fun, dynamic, active person he was:

1. Physical activity feels like play if it is part of your life, instead of a fitness plan. I need to channel 10 year old me more.
2. Infuse passion into daily life. Work is such a large part of life that we all need to build moments into it that we love.
3. Encouraging others to be active reinforces the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and adds to the fun of staying fit.
4. Other people care a lot about our health, so we should too.
5. Worrying about a balance between health and indulgence is a luxury. I’m lucky that I can have that glass of wine or that dessert, and know my body can handle it. I need to enjoy those moments of indulgence.

I plan to revisit this list a lot in the next few weeks. I’d love to hear any thoughts you all have, or any things you’ve learned from those who’ve inspired you to be fit, fun and fabulous (if you’re shy, please reread #3, above).

And remember to say thanks to those people who inspire you.