I was out running a few days ago with my husband and a young woman (mid-20s) ran by us (blew by us, actually).  She looked totally at ease running, while I think I may look a bit scary.  Anyway, my husband noted how women's fitness has changed since I was young and how I didn't grow up with any focus on fitness - that's just the way it was.

My high school had over 3000 students in three grades.  Because of its size, there were tons of options for classes.  However, the only women's sports teams were tennis and cheerleading - and cheerleading was not gymnastics-focused like it is today.  I had the same gym teacher for two out of the three years - and she taught us dance.  She had been a Rockette in her very early years, and that's what we did every day for phys ed.  Tap, tap, tap, turn... can you imagine??  In three years of high school PE, my heart rate probably never rose higher than normal resting rate.  Cardio was not a concept.  Even ‘jogging' wasn't in the dictionary.  Proof?  "Veronica and I are trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it's jogging or yogging. It might be a soft j. I'm not sure but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It's supposed to be wild."  (And if you haven't seen Anchorman with Will Ferrell, you need to stop working out and rent the DVD!).

There was no such thing as sports teams for young kids.  I'm sure there was Pop Warner Football and Little League, but nothing for girls.  Now, we start our children - boys and girls - in sports almost as soon as they can walk.  We know the value of an active lifestyle.  We encourage our children to try all the sports and keep active - and most of the recreational sports make sure that each child gets equal playing time.  By the time the teenage years arrive, even with some less-than-healthy choices, we hope the fitness habit has been ingrained. 

So, here I am trying to make up for growing up in a time where ‘strong' and ‘girl' were mutually exclusive.  The ‘good old days' were not always.  And it's never too late to have a happy (and active) childhood!