2,000 Steps to Better Parenting

I caved. I said I wouldn’t buy anymore diet gadgets or gimmicks aside from the locally farmed fresh vegetables at the overpriced farmer’s market. 

But I did it. I bought the Fitbit Flex. I had coupons, of course, and money off and money back. I hemmed and hawed until the last day of my store cash and coupons, and then I gleefully drove to the store and picked up the little sucker. I love new gadgets!

I couldn’t wait to test it out. Had to pull the hubby off his project in the garage to get my new little playmate to sync to my computer. The little lights winked hello and my relationship with the Fitbit began. 

I wanted to go slow, get to know each other. I had heard it can be sensitive, and I wanted to appreciate its strengths and weaknesses. 

I didn’t immediately go out and start walking around the block. I wanted this to be a relationship built on reality. And I was seriously curious how much activity I get just from day-to-day stuffs. 

After clasping it to my wrist at 2 p.m. Saturday, I’d logged 8,000 steps by 9 p.m. How is that possible? Sunday, almost 8,000 steps for the whole day. I can't help it. I want to earn badges and show off for my new little tech buddy. It is also getting me to look down at my meals and look up the fat content of Mongolian beef. I eat only half of my lunch at my weekly date with the girls and took the rest home, and I parked far from our dining destination to get a good walk in before I spent the next 4 hours with my friends.

While I didn't trust the Fitbit's assumption of 8,000 steps (if that's correct, then I'll need to walk 20,000 steps a day to get to goal!), I decided to log what we did on a normal day, and when I deviated and did a little more due to the new gadget.

Here’s our normal day:

Bike ride with the twins, but only in front of our house as we wait for the furniture man to arrive.

Wash all the linens and pillows as we wait for the new bed frame. Pull twins out of the pile of pillows more than once and hustle the dogs outside, who also think it’s a great game.

Take pictures of my latest Etsy creations for my shop KimsKnitKnacks.

Morgan wants to throw a ball against the wall. I leave the dishes and join her (something I wouldn't have done without the blinking light on the slim little band around my wrist). We get out the hand rackets and have a blast.

Dishes, finally, two loads of laundry and a romp on the new bed later, we go to the park.

We travel to the purple planet on our spaceship with not one, not two, but three steering wheels so everyone can drive. Jack is the first astronaut to step off the city-funded spaceship and onto the purple planet. We make angels in the tall grass.

We get sugar-free Slurpees and head home.

Jack throws a fit. We take a walk around the neighborhood instead of time out. We discuss his reasoning behind throwing a tantrum. This kid is fascinating, and breaks my heart. We run into new kids playing basketball. We spend some time making new friends.

We come home and head for the couch. But no, let's get ready for dinner together. We grill chicken and cut veggies for the salad. To the Fitbit's credit, and my new steely reserve, I have cut out the pistachios and had a smaller piece of pizza since wrapping this thing on my wrist Saturday afternoon.

At the end of the day, I’ve logged more than 11,000 steps.  

I think this could be the beginning of a healthy relationship.