dad and mom

My parents are no longer alive, but of course, that does not mean I don't think about them.  They were two very different people who figured out life together for almost 60 years.  They complimented each other and that strengthened what all my brothers and sisters gleaned from them.  With six children who were (and still are) very different from each other, we came away from childhood with very different outlooks.  Not really so odd that we didn't all learn the same things because we are all here to have different experiences.

This morning I found myself thinking about how much fun it is for me to share my CrossFit experience with my daughters and their *others* alike.  I am lucky because even my family who don't CrossFit are all equally active.  I can share golf, learn about yoga, be wowed by their running, etc.  (I never did get any of them on the tennis court regularly...too bad.)

Those thoughts led me to thinking about my parents and if they would have liked, or even understood CrossFit.  Here's my take on how they would have approached a WOD had I been able to introduce them to CrossFit:

Dad: avid golfer/tennis player/squash player(in younger years)

    ~~Dad would have shown up in crisp whites, shoes tied, listened, learned, tried to maintain a certain amount of finesse in his movements (refer to his sports) and then, mid-WOD, would have stopped to help a fellow CFer out with a dropped weight, let a woman go through the door first after a run, brought a chalk bucket to someone for pullups, etc, effectively dnf-ing on each WOD! ;) (dnf=did not finish) Not sure it would really be for him, although it would intrigue him because of my interest in it.  He would ask questions, learn as much as he could about it, be open to its effectiveness, and be happy that I was happy.




Mom: avid gardener/tree feller/boulder mover/lobster trap hauler

     ~~Mom would have shown up in paint-stained shorts, barefoot, interrupted with some bawdy remark listened somewhat, tried to muscle through every movement (refer to her interests) and then, mid-WOD, would be grunting, swearing, trying to talk to everyone, effectively flipping off the timeclock not acknowledging that there was a time component to the WOD. (Another parent dnf-ing!)  I'm sure she would have wanted to try it again.

It would have been a trip for me to experience CrossFit with my parents. 

Younger (relative to me!) CrossFitters see the value in getting their children involved by having them join in a free Saturday class (which many boxes offer) and relish having the benefits of a healthy activity to share with their children.  There are also many Kids programs offered.
As an older CrossFitter, I would love to see more of these peoples' parents (my peers) come with them to a free Saturday class to share this experience with them.  Their parent(s) may decide it's not for them, and that's fine, but I'm sure there would be many intrigued enough to try again.  I'm excited that many boxes are beginning to offer more Masters programs.

My dad would have driven my mom to the box, but then my mom would have been the one to pick up the barbell.  Interesting that seeing my impressions of what their experiences would have been shows me that I am clearly a combination of theirs', with perhaps a smidge too much of my mom's linguistic tendencies while bounding around the box barefoot!!