“Daddy, why don’t you work out anymore?” Oh the innocent questions that kids ask at an unnecessarily loud volume from several feet away when walking through the store. You see, we had just walked down the exercise equipment aisle at TJMaxx, and Jasmine was confused as to why I was looking at things I haven’t used in months. In my defense, I sprained my ankle last summer, and the joy-robbing event had caused me to not pursue high activity for a while. But of course, no one within earshot of the store aisle is aware of this history. Two seconds into starting a whispered explanation of this excuse to my first-grade daughter, I realized the pointlessness of trying to explain why Daddy doesn’t “work out anymore” (at least in the middle of TJMaxx).

This happened while we were Black Friday shopping, and the store was a little more than busy. December was just around the corner, bringing with it the evaluation of yearly goals and the ambition of new ones. W have now arrived at mid-February, and I am into week 6 of a new workout program. I can’t remember if Jasmine’s question was a factor in my decision to work out again. It was more a last-minute endeavor planned during the week between Christmas and New Years.

Isn’t it funny, though, how our kids observe our actions and try to rationalize them in the open marketplace? It sure makes us pay more attention to what we do and how our kids see us.