Workout

B. joined a gym awhile back. It started with him joining the 'little' gym - the downtown gym that has workout equipment. It was 'enough'. He paid for 1/2 the monthly fee - we paid the other half. Not sure (in hindsight) why we agreed to pay for 1/2 - but we did. Probably 'cuz it's only $10 and that seemed 'reasonable' to give him a place to go to workout.

Soon - very soon - the 'little' gym wasn't good enough. All his friends were going to the 'big' gym
(which is also closer to our house). It's the same chain - but the 'big' gym is recently remodeled, with two swimming pools (indoor and outdoor), racquetball and tennis courts, etc. He pleaded with us to change to the bigger gym - he wanted to go with his friends. Which I KNEW would happen -

He is paying for all but $10 of the 'big' gym (so we're still paying what we would have paid if we'd stayed at the little gym) and they didn't charge us anything to switch to the other location.

I really can't begrudge him the membership - he is making good use of it. He's down 50 pounds from this time last year - and he's starting to look pretty darn good (which feels as weird to type as it does for you to read - not meant in any creepy way - just a mom noticing that her son is getting kind of 'muscly' and since that's what he's going for, I'm glad it's working!).

He was out of school at 1:30 today and when I called him around 2, he was already at the gym. I reminded him (twice) to unload the dishwasher before he left for work.

Of course, he didn't unload the dishwasher. He was 'late' getting back from the gym. And he called to let us know that he was going to the gym AGAIN after work - to do cardio. And we started to protest - loudly - 'cuz school work comes FIRST and he shouldn't even be going to the gym AT ALL until his homework is done. He assured us he doesn't have much. And said 'check my grades' as proof that he was doing fine.

So we did check his grades - expecting to be vindicated. And wouldn't you know, that blasted kid is pulling straight A's - which I had predicted. I said to J. at the start of this year 'mark my words. It would be just like B. to pull straight A's out of his ass' in this, his final year of high school. And that appears to be exactly what he's doing.

And I hope he keeps doing it! A year of A's would raise his GPA considerably - it's just at a B average (which in itself is a miracle - thank goodness for IB classes, which count more in his GPA).

He is one determined kid. He wanted to lose weight and get in better shape. He has. He wanted to eat better - he is. He wants better grades - he's getting them. Now if he'd only embrace unloading the dishwasher with as much fervor as he's done/is doing these other things, we'd have it made.

Hope he keeps it up - as glad as I am to see all those 90+ grades, I realize we're only one month into the school year and a lot can happen in the next 8 months. A lot....