No Zero Days

"No Zero Days"

My husband Brian said this to me just yesterday when we walked together with our two oldest kids, Braylin and Drake. I glanced over at him questioningly and raised my eyebrows at him.

"Our new family motto. Each day we need to have a goal, something we can learn, something to keep us improving," he explained.

You see, lately, we have been busting our butts to make our lives better. We decided to clear out our debts and sell some things. We realized we don't need as much as we have to be happy. He and I decided we didn't want to continue to swim in debt. So over the last few months, we have cleared out over $65,000 in debt. We sold our extra vehicles, cracked down on our spending, and paid off multiple accounts. The finance changes were just the beginning. We are slowly making changes to the other areas of our lives as well.

I started the Noom program, which deals with nutrition and fitness. It has helped me change the way I think about food and improved the choices I make. The kids may not always appreciate the new excessive amounts of vegetables now appearing on our dinner plates, but their bodies will thank them one day.

As parents, we have the opportunity to help our kids learn healthy (or not healthy) habits when they are younger, so we are working with our four kids now. I get a sense of pride when my kids choose water over soda or fresh fruit over candy and cake. Last year we had a fantastic garden at home that the kids helped with. We planted and tended the garden together as a family, and it was one of the best things we could have done. Braylin, Drake, and Michael would get so excited to pick the vegetables and pick what we would make with them. Unfortunately, this year our garden was a washout. But, we've been shopping at the local Farmers' Market for our veggies this year, and it has worked out well. Though I won't get to make baby food with our veggies for our youngest son, Jensen, I can still use fresh items from the market. As a family, we have been learning the different benefits of the foods we eat and why making more whole and natural food choices is beneficial to our bodies—one of them being the fuel to keep us going.

And boy are we going, going, going every day.

We are a very active family. Both Braylin and Drake play sports. Drake plays baseball and football, and Braylin plays softball and is also in the middle school band. We also have 13 dogs, compete in dog hunting trials, and train dogs as a family. We do not know what "down-time" is. So that means routine workouts for me and Brian are few and far between. Though we do get plenty of movement during hunting season, we do not have consistent routines in the off-season. This is why we took the time to walk together yesterday at our local library's Walking Club.

This brings us back to "no zero days." You are probably thinking, "How do these people have time for anything else?" Just because we are busy does not mean we are consistently being proactive and using our time to the best of our ability. There is always some room for improvement or a way to incorporate new learning into our lives.

So last night, we decided as a family what "no zero days" means to us:

- Every day, we will get up and tackle our tasks

- Every day, we will do at least one thing to better ourselves: learning something new, working out, make healthy eating choices, etc.

- Every day, we will set a goal and crush it: training dogs, doing chores around the house, etc.

"No zero days" means each day has a purpose, and we contribute to our family. "No zero days" means each day ends with a feeling of accomplishment. "No zero days" means we learned something and tackled a goal (even if it is a small one). "No zero days" means we are stronger both individually and as a family.

Brian and I realized we need to live our lives with purpose and intent. We do not just want to live day to day and check off things on our list. That is no way for us to live, and we do not want our kids to grow up that way. Instead, we want to teach them to be a part of a team, live purposefully, and help others. We should start each day with a mission and end with a sense of accomplishment.

A couple of years ago, we started a routine at dinner time that we still do today. We ask each other what our high and our low was for the day. The high is our best part. It can be anything from "I got to see my best friend" to "I made it to work on time," and the low is the worst part of our day- which ranges from "I stubbed my toe" to "I forgot to turn in my homework." Of course, we have added a few things along the way, such as "What did you learn today?" "What was something nice you did for someone else?" and even "What can you do better tomorrow?"

We have found this keeps our dinner conversations lively and thoughtful. We try to avoid questions resulting in one-word answers because we want to keep conversations engaging.

I guess that "no zero days" boils down to living life engaged, building relationships, making thoughtful choices, and being a better person today than you were yesterday. I hope that my family's footprint is just a little more meaningful for those that come after us.