Mario officially turned into a muscle head tonight.  It started while Jon and him were outside grilling steak and burgers for dinner.  Mario found a set of five-pound weights in the garage and he started curling them.  Jon called me outside, and I stopped in my tracks.  There was my 40 pound son pushing weights over his head and grunting like a power lifter.  I can’t tell you how proud I was!  He is taking after his mama!

Jon called me out a few minutes later and I found Mario with no shirt pumping iron.  He informed me that he lifts better with his shirt off. Of course.  We sat down to eat, and he begged me to wash his weights so he could take them to his room.  I can only imagine opening his bedroom door and seeing him lifting weights in his sweats while jammin’ it out to Black Eyed Peas.  In the middle of eating, Mario turned to Jon and asked “Can I be done with my food so I can go outside and lift weights?” 

After eating a few more bites, he and Maria went outside.  Jon whistled at me as I cleaned the dishes.  I walked over to the back door and there was sergeant Maria belting out commands to Mario. 

“First you do ten weight curls. Then you go to the horse and balance. Then you run to the back yard. Then you hit the baseball and sprint back. Then you go to the front porch and pump your arm. Then run back.”  Mario soaked in every word and performed every activity shouted out.  With each activity, Maria would yell “Ok, Mario, move to the next!”   When he finished, she patted him on the back and told him “good job.” While Mario has got a lot of my energy and drive, Maria has a lot of her dad’s commanding style.  She has no problem barking orders to Mario and making sure that he abides by her commands.  She also has Jon’s concern for people and knows when praise is needed.  When Mario returned from his obstacle course, she knew she needed to pump him up and tell him good job. 

I our initial thoughts about these two crazy kids remain: Maria will be the executive calling the shots behind her mahogany desk and Mario will be the pro soccer player (or weightlifter) playing his heart out.