Adding to the Shovel

We all know how important it is to stay physically in shape. All kinds of benefits, right? I mean there are (obviously) physical benefits, some say emotional benefits, probably social benefits if you have a good running partner, and so on. But sometimes, lots of times really, the greatest motivator to anything comes in the form of monetary benefits. Kind of telling about our natures to be sure. But there it is.

So, after fairly active high school and college years, my husband (the coolest guy on earth) and I settled into a more sedentary early married life. Our occasional bursts of "Let's exercise more" were easy to transition in and out of. We could kind of do what we wanted as long as work schedules and seminary paper due dates permitted.

Enter Baby. Now, he's a fitness program all his own, don't get me wrong. Just turn him loose and decide you're going to follow every step he takes, and you'll see your own steps racking up right quick. But he does require constant supervision. So "Hey, let's go running" doesn't work any more. It's now, "Hey, let's one of us go running." Not as easy to get the workouts in now that it takes twice as long for us both to get it done. And we've all heard about broad-daylight abductions of joggers. And the excuses continue to pile up.

But there are ways to get with it and not throw out the gift of physical health that God has blessed us with. And one thing He has used to put some extra icing on the cake, or fat-free dressing on the salad rather, is LifeForce. Good ol' LifeForce, the employee wellness incentive program at my husband's work. And what an incentive. I believe it comes out to like $60 per month savings on insurance premiums, which are deducted from his paycheck. Sweet. So while we're still careful with our spoons, it's always nice to keep more on the shovel from the get-go (as they say).

So, we instituted a little friendly competition, complete with a spreadsheet, to motivate our continued progress im preparation for the big LifeForce Do-You-Meet-The-Benchmarks appointment this coming Thursday. I think we're good, but we'll see. If they give him the ticket to "Phase 2," there will be great rejoicing. We'll probably go out for pizza. Somewhere with a salad bar, no doubt.

Friday seems to be a good day to update the whole (potential) world on who's winning said friendly competition. I'll give some more details in the coming weeks (maybe even screen shots of our spreadsheets, who knows?) on just how we get points. I mean, after the big appointment, we need some additional accountability. The whole potential world would work, I guess.