Biking

Plan A: We need more exercise. Especially Maggie and Andrew.
Plan B: I don't want to buy another car.

Plan A+B: We gotta start riding bikes to town.

The one time I jogged to town, it took 32 minutes. Last week I biked to town, and it was 20 minutes. Being the old and decrepit mother, I figured that two teens (who have been, incidentally, riding their bikes for fun & exercise while I engage in the tantalizing entertainment of dishes-washing and laundry-folding)
two teens should be able to do any physical activity that I am capable of. If I could bike to town and do a few errands and be back in an hour, they'd be able to. Right?

Wrong.
Andrew can.

Maggie cannot.
That hour of exercise/errands today took TWO hours. Maggie was hot, red, and exhausted. She needed rest stops.

We were supposed to go visit the cardiologist this week. Due to car-sharing amongst the family, I called and postponed the appointment. We're due to go now in October for a stress-test and check-up. I see no reason that her heart defect should have anything to do with her inability to keep up on the bike; I think it's just plain being out of shape.

I think it's very important for mommies of wee ones to get them out in their buggies and strollers for daily walks in the sun and fresh air. I think mommies of toddlers and preschoolers should make it a priority to get to the playground frequently and to go for walks. Something in my gut tells me that I should not have to do that with a 13-yr-old. But apparently I do.

Can I?