Childhood Obesity and The Size of the Modern Kitchen

While listening to the news this morning, I heard that our obesity problem in America might have something to do with our enormous kitchens. They told us to think about how modest and functional June Cleaver’s kitchen was on “Leave It To Beaver”. I don’t know about the rest of America, but my kitchen isn’t 1/3 the size of the Beave’s. They had a dinette set in their kitchen and still plenty of room to walk around and work. I have about 4 feet between my refrigerator and my sink on the opposite wall; absolutely no room for a table and chairs. I don’t even have room for a breakfast nook. I just want to know where these kitchens are because they’re not here.

The program used statistics such as the obesity rate in children has tripled. They want to equate that to large kitchens and somehow make us believe that most children in the US have a home life that centers around these unusually large rooms. Mothers today for the most part do not have or do not take the opportunity to spend time in the kitchen. It has been made nearly impossible, by both sexes, for mother’s to stay home doing menial chores such as: what the maid does for pay; what the daycare does for pay; what the dry cleaners do for pay. We have been made to believe that it is impossible to be fulfilled as a stay-at-home mom. And yet, we’re all looking for work-at-home jobs.

I think it’s time the news media took a hard look at the link between obesity of school age children and the fact that these children spend around eight hours a day in a classroom. Many school have done away with recess because it is a waste of time. Recess is a thing of the past in all Georgia schools. Our own government school tried to end recess locally but meet with such fierce opposition they changed their minds, for now anyway.

In addition to no recess consider the fact that the ten or fifteen minutes of break-time given each day is used for eating snacks.

Not to lay the whole problem at the feet of the school system, my children and I were on our way to town during spring break one day and I commented on the fact that there were no children outside playing. It seemed unusual to me that there were no children riding bikes or shooting baskets. My oldest daughter said they were probably too busy playing video games or chatting on the internet.

This is simply my opinion. Maybe, I think it's worth a thought anyway, these are two of the primary reasons children are obese and I won’t even mention, ok maybe I will, the fact that more babies are on an unnatural formula rather than breast milk because young mothers were convinced years ago that formula was just as good and much more convenient. That’s just plain bull. Breast milk is always there and ever ready, no warming in the middle of the night. Is it possible this could also play a part in the jump in childhood obesity. Just a couple of things to think about.

A Bear in the Smokies II

Steve got a bottle of water out of the car and we began the hike. We had already decided that since it was getting late in the afternoon we wouldn’t try to actually make it to the waterfall destination. That wasn’t as important to us as it is to some. We simply enjoy walking in the woods and finding the treasures of the forest such as an interesting looking tree or rock formation. It may sound corny but that’s how we are. The path was all downhill so it was easy going (going). We were walking along talking and pointing out things that caught our attention when Steve said, “What would we do if we saw a bear?”

I said, “Run!”

“No! That would be the worst thing you could do.”

“Why do you ask questions like that at times like this?”

He always asks me questions like this when there is a reasonable possibility that they could happen. For example, while on the scrambler at the county fair he says, “What would happen if that bolt came loose?” Talking about the bolt that holds the compartment we are sitting in to the main portion of the ride.

“Well I was just thinking how it’s possible and we should be prepared.”
I agree, that’s logical. Steve bends over and picks up a big stick and says, “I’ll keep it occupied while you get away with the baby.”

Problem solved. I’ve heard people say that they go to the mountains to see the bears and they would really like the opportunity to see one in the wild. I’m not one of those people.

Now my over-active imagination is really in gear so I do what works best for me to calm myself down, I start singing church hymns. My favorite is “Just the Same Today” because it tells of the miracles that God has done in the past and that he hasn’t changed. So my thinking is that he was so powerful then and he hasn’t changed that he can take care of my family even if we have to face a bear. This makes me less nervous as we continue the hike.

We walk on and we slip into silence. The woods are a wonderful place to let your mind wonder and allow thoughts to come. The baby has been so good she seems to be under the forest spell as well and she doesn’t fuss or grumble.

Suddenly, Steve who is walking in the lead position stops dead in his tracks. I almost run into him. He’s looking to the right of the trail and he whispers to me to be quiet and points to the BEAR. No joke a bear is sitting, watching us as we walk. We stand still and stare back at the bear. There is no doubt he is watching us.

Steve says, “Turn around and walk slowly back up the trail.” Remember since the beginning of this walk we have been going directly downhill and we have traveled a good mile and possibly further. I turn around and do as I have been told. I only look back to make sure Steve is following.

We climb and climb for what seems to me an eternity. The bear doesn’t appear to be following us and since I am tired of climbing while holding the baby, I hand her to Steve. Immediately my perfect little girl who is awestruck by the forest bursts into uncontrollable sobs and yells. Steve gives her back to me and she stops, she is happy again. As the mommy with the now aching back, I am not happy, but I would rather have an aching back and be carrying an extra 20 pounds in the form of a baby than to have to tangle with that bear.

When we get about a mile back toward the parking area and we’re sure the bear hasn’t followed us Steve gets back in his playful mood and says something like, “We didn’t have a thing to worry about. Why if that bear had made a move for us I would have slapped him on the head with this mighty stick.” With that he slammed the stick to the ground and it disintegrated at his feet.

“I don’t guess we did have anything to worry about,” I said straight faced, “We would have had plenty of time to get away because after you hit him with that mighty stick he would have been laughing too hard to notice us getting away.”

We finally got back to the parking area. As we headed for our car we watched another family preparing to follow the trail. A daddy, a mommy, a little boy (about 11), a little girl (about 7) and a grandma going toward the restrooms. The dad had a huge, survival (Rambo) knife attached to his belt.

As we walked passed them, I felt compelled to tell them the dangers of walking this trail so I said, “About 1 ½ miles down this trail is a brown bear so you might want to look for a more populated place.”

The dad said, “Did you hear that, there’s a bear? Hurry up or we might miss him.”

I like to avoid crowds. I like to go on vacation in the off-season. It’s more relaxing to me not to get into the middle of the hustle and bustle that some people prefer. That’s just my preference. I don’t go on vacation during the week of the fourth of July. And now, I don’t walk down deserted trails.

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“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Ronald Hubbard

A Bear in the Smokies

Our vacation destinations have been limited to proximity and affordability. We usually go to either the beach, Gulf of Mexico, or to the Smoky Mountains, North Carolina or Tennessee. We like to go to the mountains in the winter and the beach in the summer.

When my oldest daughter was 11 months old, we switched things around and went to the mountains in the summer. We had a wonderful trip as we ordinarily do. We stayed in Cherokee, North Carolina and did the usual tourist activities one does with a small child.

One afternoon we decided to follow one of the hiking trails. This is one of our favorite activities when we are in the mountains (it’s cheap too). Since we had been on many hikes in that area, Steve found one on a map that we hadn’t been to and we set out to find it.

We followed an unusually winding road. Most roads are curvy in the Smokies but this one was a little more difficult in it’s steepness and hairpin turns. I told Steve at one point that I was able to shake my own hand as we went around a bend that doubled back to where we had been seconds earlier only on a higher level. This road was also unusually deserted, no tourists coming or going.

When we got to the parking area at the beginning of the trail it also was deserted. I asked Steve if he thought it was still a good idea to follow this particular trail. I can always conjure up absurd ideas as to why something out of the ordinary (to me) is happening. I’ve hiked many trails in the Smokies and this was the first and only time that I’ve had a trail to myself.

Before we started out, I had to go to the bathroom. Luckily, the trails in the Smokies are more often than not equipped with bathrooms and this one was. I didn’t like going into this deserted, block building out in the middle of nowhere by myself but if I were going to be comfortable on the hike I knew that I must. My thoughts turned to every Friday the 13th movie I had ever seen. I literally had to talk myself into going into the bathroom. Once inside I looked in every corner and both stalls before I felt comfortable enough to use the bathroom and then I hurried to get out because my imagination had my nerves on edge. I could just see somebody or something coming through the vent (6 x 6 inches) above my head.