We took our kids ziplining in Mexico to this great place called Xplor. It has two courses with seven zip lines connected together. You start by crossing a tropical forest high above the trees, then run up the stairs to the next landing where you zip off again. As we raced up the stairs to wait in line for the next run, I remember feeling so alive and so glad to be with my kids. We zoomed across the forest, then ran up the stairs to the next one, over and over again. It was October and there weren’t many people at the park that day. We felt like we had the place to ourselves.
We came off one set of ziplines and were headed to the next when I saw a Grandma. She was talking to her grandson and telling him, “Come back and tell me how it was.” She sat by herself, waving goodbye to her family as they went off on their adventure.
I decided then and there. I’m not going to be a grandma that says, “Come back and tell me how it was.” I’m going to be standing in line to zipline with my grand kids. I know I don’t have complete control over that, but there are many things I can control.
I can choose to take care of my physical health.
I can choose to be open to adventure.
I can choose to say yes to new things.
I can choose to try.
Those things don’t happen on the day you get to the adventure park. They happen every day starting today. Every day I make choices about how I’m going to take care of my body. When I make choices that lead me to good health, I’m ready when the opportunities come.
Now is the time to prepare. No one can do it for me. No one can exercise for me, eat healthy foods for me, or learn tools that increase my mental and emotional health for me. These are decisions I have to make for myself.
Putting off the effort to make those patterns part of my daily routine makes me less prepared when opportunities arise. If I’m working at it every day, I’m always ready.
It works the same way with spiritual preparation. When my kids are sick I can ask my husband to give them a priesthood blessing. He doesn’t say, “I’m going to have to wait a few weeks to get myself spiritually aligned. He is preparing for that every day. He is taking action each day to be ready.
I want to take action every day to be a ziplining grandma. I hope you’ll join me!
