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One of the things that I have really learned with my daughter and her Kidney disease is that we have up times and down times and we need to really take advantage of both.

Kidney Disease But Still Super Active

Our daughter Taylor, when she is feeling good likes to go on long bike rides and hikes and has lots of energy for that but then she does need to have her downtime and will be quiet and read or watch TV for the next day or so. Taylor has a far more balanced life than most people and it is because she wants to always do stuff but knows that the downtime has to happen and that sleeping and eating are critical for her health.

I learn a lot from Taylor, and you can too

I find that once I start moving I don’t want to stop. I like to be active with my hockey, weightlifting, training for my Kidney March, and anything else we can find to do. The trouble is that there is no urgency, I don’t schedule a lot of outings with the kids we just run with it so if I miss a day of exercise then it is no big deal. But it should be.

Really we need to schedule our exercise and activities or they probably won’t get done. There is a finite number of hours in the day and some things just always get in the way. Work, eating, sleeping, household and family chores, lots of stuff. If we don’t plan our fun, active stuff then it will not happen.

Downtime – Very Important

On the other side is our quiet time. I am worse for this and feel bad about it but we all need that time just to relax and recharge. Sitting in the backyard listening to the neighbourhood and sipping some kind of drink, meditative times just reflecting on where we have been and where we are going, and less active activities where we just get to hang with the family and friends and be truly present instead of thinking about the next thing that we are going to do (A whole blog post is sitting in that statement).

And sleep. I wish I was the guy that could thrive on 5 hours sleep a night but certainly I am not. I need my sleep and I count this as really the majority of my downtime. I listen to a quiet podcast, maybe read, and then fall asleep for hopefully 8 hours so that I am fully rested and tackle another great and fantastic day.

These are the things that my daughter Taylor really does well and mostly far better than me. She does all the active things, and then bakes, reads, sleeps, hangs out with friends and even talking to the dogs. All the things a kid should do but it is all measured.

Taylor’s Balanced Schedule

We were talking to a newspaper reporter a few months ago and she was asking what kind of difficulties that we have with Taylor and her Kidney Disease and I told her that it was not a big deal. My wife looked at me like I was crazy and then started listing off all the things we need to do; hospital visits, vitamins, shots, blood work. When I heard it that way it sounded like a very tough lifestyle. But realistically I think that our of everyone in the house my daughter really has everything together much better than any of the rest of us do.

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