There are many lessons to be learned as it pertains to fitness. Spiritual and physical health and wellness tops the list. Our spiritual fitness includes things such as praying and biblical intake. Conversely, our physical fitness embodies walks in the park, use of treadmill and chasing each other around the house! To be quite honest our fitness pillar has been most challenging however we continue to focus on the rewards. Considering the current climate of the world that we live in our health weighs in the balance, and we believe health and wellness play a vital role in the longevity of the family unit. However, there is a particular aspect of fitness that we would like to focus on which we have coined ‘fitness of the family.’
Since the pandemic there have been many articles that purports a rise in the divorce rate by double digit percentage. Since then, we have been more deliberate in the fitness of our family. To ensure the fitness of our family it is imperative that we communicate. As parents we encourage our children as well as each other to talk about things so we can deal with it as a family. Too often family matters get spilled into the public view before it can be handled within the home. Communication creates room for teaching opportunities. Teachers in schools are invaluable, but not everything in school that is taught is accurate or relevant based on your life experiences or circumstance.
We constantly have talks with our children while educating ourselves on our history as people form African heritage. When a classmate made unwise comments about our oldest daughter’s hair, as parents we have been there to pick up the pieces to encourage Ana of her beauty and the strength that her hair holds. What makes us fit is being able to acknowledge that as a family we are not perfect. We do not have it all together, we show vulnerability with our children (they see us cry and we cry together), they can literally sense and know without a shadow of doubt they are loved. This we believe translates into growth. This is the fitness of our family, we are constantly growing and broadening our horizon while being grounded in our core beliefs. We lead by example in that some of the things that we require of our children, we have done it and want them to excel even further. We understand that fitness encompasses sacrifice and determination. The Mattis Five are willing to make the necessary sacrifices to ensure the fitness of our family.
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