I don’t do all that much physical activity.
I have a job where I sit most of the day (or, if I do get up, it’s because I’m walking to a meeting room to sit somewhere else) and, when I get home, the things that I enjoy the most are sedentary: watching things on the TV, playing video games, reading.
I used to enjoy playing team sports, but it’s hard to motivate myself to find a team that doesn’t mind having an out-of-shape misfit, much less actually going to practices or games. I still get somewhat intimidated by pick-up games with people I don’t know and the people I do know tend to like doing the same things I like when we get together: watching things and playing video games.
And I’ve tried to start or keep some kind of consistent gym routine but it’s never stuck.
Anyway, this is all material that I’ve covered in this blog before. What struck me recently is that I’m going to feel like such a hypocrite when my son is born. For an extended period of his youth, I’m going to want the kid to balance his sedentary and physical time, when I don’t really do a good job of doing it myself.
In my head, though, it’ll be much easier to motivate myself. Playing with my kid? That seems like it’ll top watching an episode of Glee or playing an hour of Mass Effect 2. So maybe having a child will help solve some of that, just by merit of a child naturally wanting to expend energy.
I’m sure that having a baby in the house may also cut down on the amount of time I can spend just sitting on the couch. But it’s something I’ll have to make an effort to do: be more active, if nothing else for the simple fact that my son will be watching me. And I need to set a good example.