Weigh Your Options

By Jennifer DePriest

The warm weather is here and my summer break is in full swing. I have been tossing around life goals for a while, but my boys also started expressing ways they wanted to get in shape this summer. Add to this different health challenges some of my closest friends are facing, and it has led me to look at this summer a lot differently. Our world functions at such a fast pace and research has shown that we are seeing more and more people with anxiety and unhealthy waist lines like never before. There are a myriad of options that people can look into when it comes to losing weight and getting healthy. Trying to cook healthy for two former football players can be costly at times, but it has also made me stop and really weigh the options.

Using my summer to teach my boys to cook healthy, whole foods so that we all can ease up on the scales, is not just about what we look like at the beach. For me, personally, I want to be healthy so that I am not a burden to my kids as I grow older. For my kids, I want to teach them that cooking and eating healthy can be easy, and it can eventually just be second nature to them.

The beauty of it all, at a time that I know will pass by in the blink of an eye, spending evenings cooking with my boys means evenings of fun, music and memories that they will have with them forever. Leaning in and slowing down to share meals around a table while we talk about life, well, this is one of the most valuable things that I can instill in them before they have homes of their own, or before their careers take them to parts unknown.

I hope that they can develop a love for this precious family time and, in turn, it will prepare them to not only be able to provide for their families, but that each of my sons can also be a true “helpmate” to their spouse one day. So I have weighed the options: yes, sometimes cooking healthy can cost more. Sometimes cooking healthy can take a little more time, but the benefits for generations to come sure outweigh the minor obstacles. Spending quality time with my kids as they are getting closer and closer to leaving the nest makes this option, which consists of building a healthier way of life into our home, priceless. Time only stands still for home décor, so take the time to smell the roses and make the most of every second life gives you.

Until next month…