Kanoa and I hiking Koko Head Crater (Oahu, Hawaii)

We have been a very active family from day one.  As an avid runner myself, I find enjoyment in being able to move from sprint speeds to paced 5ks.  For both of our kids, we had running strollers that weren’t just for show.  Those things saw all sorts of miles, speeds and terrain.  🙂 Both of our boys were raised around running and even from an early age they were encouraged to walk with us to stores.  Hiking trails, and running them, is a lovely experience that is enjoyed by all of us.  Our eldest was fortunate enough to experience quite a few beautiful hikes when we lived on the island of Oahu.  Where ever we found our lives, we would search out local trails and hikes and discover life as nature intended.  This is something that I feel is being lost nowadays with the advent of so many different technological devices.  On top of that, most kids are primarily already eating very unhealthily, couple that with the sedentary lifestyle of our modern age and you got a recipe for disaster.

The United States is undergoing an epidemic of childhood obesity and this has consequences way beyond the present.  Our kids are the future and if they are not healthy then our communities won’t be healthy.  I have a saying, “healthy individuals create healthy communities”, but the opposite is true as well.  Hence, Diana and I have decided to focus our energy in this area and feel that is where most of our efforts should be placed.  We want to bring awareness to this problem and offer the solutions as exhibited in our way of life.  This is why we will feature prominently that every step in the right direction counts as they all add up in the end.  What this means is that there is no miracle fad from exercise to diet that will change things over night, what needs to be done is just start from where you are at and make an effort to change.

For example, two days out of the week I walk to pick up my boys from school, it’s 1.2 miles each way.  So, my boys cover that twice a week.  Even under hot conditions we make the effort.  On the particular walk I am referring to, the temperature was very hot and humid.  I remind my boys on the days we walk that during the early afternoon they should remember to drink water in anticipation.  It’s a smart idea to stay hydrated while moving around in such weather.

There is so much to do and see while walking.  The first thing to do is get out of your head and use your eyes and ears to take in the sights and sounds.  The bonding experience with your children will be well worth it.  Of course, with all the modern convenience kids, and adults for that matter, have grown accustomed to, it will be challenging at times to keep them encouraged and moving forward.  The best thing for you to do is lead by example and just have fun with the experience.  There will be many things encountered along the way; the kids will have an open forum to ask you all sorts of school related and life questions that at other times is hard because of our daily duties.  And, on top of everything, you all get exercise in the process.  Talk about the ultimate form of conscious multi-tasking.

One good thing we’ve encountered during our walk is a sea grape tree and it has fruits ripe for the picking.

The kids love this part of the walk and look forward to it.  There’s nothing like finding edible food in the wild (read: not a supermarket) to revitalize one’s sense of nature.  One word of caution, please don’t eat anything you don’t know for sure is edible as it can be harmful.

Our children will lead us into the future and continue the process of this experience we call life.  Let’s leave our legacy healthy and capable to tackle all the challenges they will face.

What are you waiting for?!