I hope my babysitter doesn't read this...

[elfs]

omahas and I are cultivating teenagers who can watch over Kouryou-chan (and Yamaarashi-chan when she's here). We've found three so far, and like all teenagers they need money and, y'know, Omaha and I pay pretty well, at least minimum wage, which is better than most people according to the teens we've asked. Friday night, we asked Lily to come over and try it out.

She's a neat kid. Brought a stack of books to read for when Kouryou-chan went to sleep, as we expected to be out until after midnight. Omaha and I went out and had a good Valentine's day party, and when we came home we found Kouryou-chan safely in bed and Lily asleep on the couch, her book on the the floor next to her, curled up on a Tazmanian Devil pillow and under my favorite Sad Girl In Snow blanket. We woke her long enough to ask if she wanted to go home or crash for the night-- offering to feed her if she stayed, a bribe as I was tired enough I didn't want to drive anywhere.

She's pretty, too, but... While she walked about in a t-shirt and jeans I noticed that her triceps just sorta hung there. She has absolutely no muscle tone at all in her arms. It was a moment when I realized that she was falling into that category of teenager who spends too much of her time not doing anything at all physical. Smart as she is, it was sad to realize that physically she's probably already caught in that downward spiral that has made America the most obese nation on Earth.

Comments

[riverheart.livejournal.com]

About 10 years ago, I realized that my body had hit its setpoint; that my body is happy and healthy with the amount of meat I carry on my bones.

You know, I may be overweight. I may be *FAT*. But I'm strong, healthy, have stamina for days (when I'm not sick, as I have been this week), generally able to fight off illnesses with little problem, smart, and am considered lovely at the least by my beloved (and I think by others).

I can ride a horse, train a dog, walk all day long, kayak all day long too for that matter, push my own truck if necessary, fix a Mac, fix a fence, prune a tree, etc...and I don't have much muscle tone in my triceps, either. I don't "exercise" or work out in a gym; I live, and live large.

Yes, Lily's a neat kid, and pretty, and there's more to being attractive than having buff triceps. If she's grounded and centered, aware of her own strengths and able to act from them, and keeping active both physically and mentally, then she's doing pretty well.