Sunday, January 20, 2008

Mr. Richardson in Therapy

Boy did it dump snow last night... I told our Ultimate Body Challenge students a week ago to hit the driveway with their shovels the moment it snows. Even if it melts the same day. During a typical year, I'm just trying to finish shoveling before it melts, but this year the snow has been hanging around a few days. Okay, I just spent several bytes of information talking about shoveling the snow... better make it a kilobyte, cause I ain't stoppin'.

When I told everyone a week ago to shovel their driveways, I was hoping to stimulate a change in daily activity. I try really hard to avoid just hanging out on a cold January Sunday. Isaac and I have a goal and it's to shovel enough snow to the front of our driveway to last until April. Actually, that's my goal, his is just for daddy to build the tallest possible snow mound. Our driveway leads to a garage that's behind our house, so it's one heck of a shoveling job. In fact, I'll even shovel our neighbors driveway. He thanks me, but really... I just wanted his snow.

I believe there are certain things in life that we need as therapy. For me, shoveling the driveway is therapeutic. In the summer, it's mowing the lawn, building or remodeling something. The funny thing is, the more I work, the more I need my therapy sessions. A buddy asked me a while ago, "don't you ever sit down and watch TV?" I really don't know how much TV people watch, but my response was, "Yes, I watch Jay Leno and Conan." I can't stand Carson Daly. His response was, "No... cable, ESPN, etc." Hmmm... I wasn't sure how to answer this.

You see, there was a point in our life when I was embarassed that Rachel and I didn't have cable. Actually, we had rabbit ears, but we hid them behind the entertainment center so nobody would see them when they came over. Finally, we thought, okay... why don't we get cable. The cable guy came out and hooked up all this wicked gadgetries. Rachel and I were so excited. We were so excited, our therapy sessions went right out the window. We had cable for 25 days and called Cableone to come get this stuff out of our house. I no longer watched the only 2 shows I enjoyed, but rather 150 other channels that I felt obligated to watch. Rachel and I hardly talked and we sure as heck didn't read a thing for those 25 days.

Today our trusty rabbit ears still sit behind the entertainment center, but not out of shame, but rather because it's the only place they'll fit at full extension. Here are a list of some of my favorite therapy sessions.

Therapy Suggestions:
Stain the fence, Mow the lawn, Shovel the driveway, Paint a room, Add organizing shelves, Building a bike ramp for Isaac (the old fashioned way- with wood), Stain concrete, Build stuff from a craftsman magazine.

For Rachel, she likes burying things and then waiting 6 months to see them grow. I personally need some instant gratification. Rachel's therapy sessions also include focusing on her business, Fireweed Baby, which is designing and creating baby & toddler belts.

What's your therapy?

Duncan Richardson
Chief Master Instructor
The Academy of World Taekwondo
Ph: 208.381.0587
http://www.FreeKarateLesson.com

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