Mommy is smarter than Daddy!

Recently my seven year daughter old made a bold statement about her intelligence which, in the end, left me feeling all the "dumber" and motivated to run at the same time. Her simple claim was that she was smarter than her four year old brother because she “can read and he can’t”.

Here’s how the conversation went, and how it went down hill for me:

Mom speaking to Daughter: “Honey you can read because you’re older, not because you’re smarter.”
Dad speaking to Daughter: “If you follow that logic honey you’d have to conclude that your mom is smarter than I am”. I said with a grin of disagreement.
Daughter: “She is smarter than you dad because she works out, and that’s smart, and you don’t, and that’s not smart.”
Son: “Yeah dad.”
Dad: “Ouch.”

From there I spent 10 minutes trying to come up with some way these two smartallecs would have to agree that their dad was smarter than their mom. Years in school? No, I lose by 2. Degrees earned? No, I lose by one, plus she's a lawyer. Languages spoken? No, but in my own defense Pig Latin shouldn't really count.

With the respect of my dear children fading I gave up and said "Well I can still run faster, and lift more" to which she said "Yeah but she can run further". I still lost.

All joking aside the kids should be very proud of their mother. She is the smartest person I know, and we're all smarter because she's part of the family. I hope they both end up with her brains and her work ethic...but I'm here to tell you that I'm closing the "intelligence gap" every time I go for a run or a walk or get on the bike.

If you're struggling with a lack of motivation when it comes to getting out and moving your body just remember that "exercising is smart, and not exercising isn't."