living
AND ANOTHER THING …
IF I ’ M NOT MISTAKEN , in my last column , I indicated I needed to get off the sedentary train and climb aboard the active wagon . You know , that one you may have hitched a ride with 20 or 40 pounds ago ? I fell off that wagon years ago , if ever I was , in fact , an actual passenger . I ’ m sure I was instead dangling off the side à la Indiana Jones , clutching to a brittle strap , being dragged for miles .
Regardless , I haven ’ t re-approached the wagon since New Year ’ s resolution time . I may have seen it from a distance , like a mirage , but then again that may have just been a Dairy Queen .
So now ? Now I mean it . I mean , I REALLY mean it . Once we ’ re through with winter . It ’ s been a cold one . That ’ s my excuse , anyway .
Like many grown-ups , I have little ones and I need to start setting better examples . My five-year-old daughter is going to soon figure out that I ’ m not the athlete she thinks I am when I ’ m lackadaisically kicking the soccer ball around in flip-flops . I need to start making sure I ’ m around for her and her brother . For the last four years or so , I ’ ve been pretending that they ’ ve been keeping me active . While that ’ s not entirely untrue , they ’ re not preventing my touching an occasional piece of lettuce , which isn ’ t nestled gently under a cheese-smothered hamburger patty , or putting a carrot to my lips .
I ’ m a grown man , and I can ’ t remember the last time I had a salad that didn ’ t start with “ Caesar ” or “ Macaroni ” or “ Jell-O ” and was followed by , “ No need to be stingy with the bacon bits and Parmesan .” ESPECIALLY on the Jell-O one .
I don ’ t want to say I haven ’ t been active at ALL this winter . We did get a treadmill , and while I have only set foot ( feet ?) on it once , I DID have to move it down into the basement . So , point : Jay .
With spring in the air , I know I have to start getting out there and being active . And I will . Allegedly . Which you ’ d think would be easy with little ones . They ’ re bundles of energy ! Except , they have little legs and can ’ t keep up . When we are out with our kids , one is a half a mile ahead of us waiting for us to join her , while the other is roughly three miles back , smelling the grass , playing with strays , or pretending he ’ s a whale .
This leads me to the stairs climbing the coulees northwest of Whoop-Up Drive . I ’ d like to climb them , but for now , I ’ ve only seen them from the comfort of my minivan . Oh , for crying out loud . Hold on …
There . I ’ m back . To be honest , I wasn ’ t sure where I was going with this , but I just stopped writing , hopped in the van , and parked at Bull Trail Park . I walked down , walked back up , and fell down trying to get back into the van while realizing I did nothing to prepare for the journey . I didn ’ t stretch , I wasn ’ t dressed properly , and I didn ’ t take water . Then I grabbed some tacos .
But I did it ! Twenty-eight months after moving to Lethbridge , I actually climbed those intimidating steps I drive by daily . I ’ d like to say I ’ ll do it again tomorrow , but I assume I won ’ t be able to move . Give me two or 14 days and I ’ ll load the family up and we ’ ll do it all together . Or , we ’ ll wait until June when it may or may not be snowing . See you at the top .
JAY HERRINGTON PHOTOGRAPHY : JEN ALSTON , MPA ;
IMAJEN PHOTOGRAPHY @ jayherrington75
Jay Herrington can be heard weekday mornings from 5:30 – 10 a . m . on Lethbridge ’ s Home for Modern Hit Music , 98.1 The Bridge .
42 LETHBRIDGELIVING . COM MAR-APR 2017