Things That Matter

[ClingingToHope]

My D11 has hit puberty and is getting curves and a tummy. This winter I signed her up for a swimming team but she stopped going because it was too hard -- and STBXW was no help. She never once took her to practice or a meet. It all fell on me.

I harped on D11 for a bit then I remembered the fights my dad and I would get into after the D about me not practicing baseball enough.

It was frustrating for him because he wasn't there every day anymore. I resented being told what to do. I was a teenager. I was more interested in friends and girls than practice by then.

Back to D11, I stopped harping and she's seeing things on her own. She doesn't like how she looks in clothes.

Now, I don't want her to develop a complex. I just want her to grow up healthy. And at my place, she doesn't eat after 8 p.m. We go swimming all the time. I try to get them up off the couch doing things. I buy lots of fruit to eat and water to drink. We never order pizza. They can only have fries once a week.

All you can do is give them a positive example. I weigh five pounds more than my high school graduation weight. STBXW outweighs me by 20 pounds and keeps looking for the magic diet or exercise machine to turn the tide. STBXW is just lazy when it comes to exercise. Two times she got down to size 2 and a size 4, but then she let herself go.

I think it's sinking in. She asked me to sign her up for a basketball camp this summer. I really think she'll start running with me a bit -- which will be hard because it means we have to leave D7 alone for 15 minutes or so.

Still. She's following my lead without me having to harp on her.