I noticed recently that Ben has put on a few pounds. Nothing dramatic, but enough that I noticed. And if I noticed, that means it is time to address it.

I think he has become a little too comfortable.

That is not entirely surprising. His life is stable now. He has a routine. Regular meals. A predictable schedule. A household where he knows exactly what is expected of him. Comfort has a way of sneaking up on people.

The problem is that comfort can easily become complacency.

So I have decided to have some fun with it.

Rather than putting him on some formal fitness program, I have been incorporating exercise into his daily life. Randomly. Unexpectedly. Throughout the day.

He might be vacuuming when I call out, “Twenty pushups. Now.”

He might be folding laundry when I decide it is time for a jog around the neighborhood.

Sometimes I send him up and down the stairs repeatedly carrying baskets of laundry. Sometimes I make him do bodyweight exercises before dinner. Sometimes I simply interrupt whatever he is doing and tell him to move.

The unpredictability is part of the point.

He never knows when the next command is coming, so he has learned to stay ready. It is also surprisingly entertaining for me. There is something satisfying about watching a service sub drop whatever he is doing and immediately start exercising because I said so.

What has impressed me most is that he has not complained once.

He huffs. He sweats. He occasionally gives me a look that says he knows exactly what I am doing. But then he gets moving.

The best part is that the whole household benefits. The work still gets done. He gets healthier. And I get to enjoy watching him run around trying to stay one step ahead of whatever fitness challenge I decide to invent next. And watching him work up a sweat is just pure pleasure.

I suspect a few more pounds will disappear very quickly.

After all, a service sub should be useful. But there is no reason he cannot be fit while he is at it.