March 24, 2014 - Spin Cycle
Just when I thought gym life couldn’t get any better, I got introduced to YogaFit. It happened this morning – true love, true love. (Elaine will get the reference.)
It’s obvious that I’m not a natural gymnast – I am clumsy and inflexible and, frankly, lazy. But for whatever reason, when I walk through the doors of my local gym, I don’t care – I love it! (Hi Anna!) I’m on for everything – except Spin Class. Ah well, a woman’s reach should exceed her grasp, or what’s an equipment adjustment for.
But Spin or RPM is my next challenge. See http://w3.lesmills.com/global/en/classes/rpm/about-rpm/ I tried it once and couldn’t stand it. I just didn’t see anything to be enthusiastic about. And, yet, a couple of my fellow older-middle-aged “substantial” friends just love it.
But the woman who is ultimately motivating me to give this more of a try does not even know she is having an impact on me at all. I’ll call her Tatiana – just because I like that name, not because it’s hers. Tatiana and I met some 30 years ago. I think our toddlers went to the same nursery school.
Both of us had a third child around the same time, and both of us had the baby blues. Or more like the baby greys. Caro (my sweet) was born in late September and by the end of October, when I could get out and about again, the skies had turned grey, the snow had fallen, Laur needed the car for school, and I felt like I was in an ice jail.
Tatiana was in a similar position and she invited me over to have coffee with her regularly. It was heaven. After lunch on many days, I put Tommy (age 3) in a sleigh and Caro in a front pack and off we/I trotted. It was exercise and fresh air – it was play time for Tat’s at-home tyke and mine – it was nursing and cuddle time for the babies – and Tatiana and I drank gallons of decaf melita coffee and chatted. Life improved immeasurably.
*****
We kept in touch only loosely after that. Tatiana returned to work as a nurse. First part-time, then full-time, and then she did what I can only dream of having the energy to do. She launched herself into a very important position in a small-town hospital. Woo hoo! And on retirement she and her hubs moved to the Niagara area. That I can do too, eventually.
I was thinking about Tatiana the other day and looked for her on facebook, and there she was. Not only was she a great mom and nurse and hospital administrator, she is now a marathon runner and CYCLIST! Since my initial impression of Tatiana was that she was not a natural athlete (and I’m likely wrong here, since baby-led breastfeeding requires lots of sitting,) I am thinking, “If she can do this, maybe I can too?”
What the “do” is maybe a little different – actually, quite a lot different. My marathon-ing will always be fast walking over short distances, and my cycling will likely be waddling for one hour, once a week, at the back of a cycling class. But even Tatiana didn’t go from the chesterfield to the racetrack in a day.
Mother Theresa said, Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” This is doubly true for kind deeds...
It’s obvious that I’m not a natural gymnast – I am clumsy and inflexible and, frankly, lazy. But for whatever reason, when I walk through the doors of my local gym, I don’t care – I love it! (Hi Anna!) I’m on for everything – except Spin Class. Ah well, a woman’s reach should exceed her grasp, or what’s an equipment adjustment for.
But Spin or RPM is my next challenge. See http://w3.lesmills.com/global/en/classes/rpm/about-rpm/ I tried it once and couldn’t stand it. I just didn’t see anything to be enthusiastic about. And, yet, a couple of my fellow older-middle-aged “substantial” friends just love it.
But the woman who is ultimately motivating me to give this more of a try does not even know she is having an impact on me at all. I’ll call her Tatiana – just because I like that name, not because it’s hers. Tatiana and I met some 30 years ago. I think our toddlers went to the same nursery school.
Both of us had a third child around the same time, and both of us had the baby blues. Or more like the baby greys. Caro (my sweet) was born in late September and by the end of October, when I could get out and about again, the skies had turned grey, the snow had fallen, Laur needed the car for school, and I felt like I was in an ice jail.
Tatiana was in a similar position and she invited me over to have coffee with her regularly. It was heaven. After lunch on many days, I put Tommy (age 3) in a sleigh and Caro in a front pack and off we/I trotted. It was exercise and fresh air – it was play time for Tat’s at-home tyke and mine – it was nursing and cuddle time for the babies – and Tatiana and I drank gallons of decaf melita coffee and chatted. Life improved immeasurably.
*****
We kept in touch only loosely after that. Tatiana returned to work as a nurse. First part-time, then full-time, and then she did what I can only dream of having the energy to do. She launched herself into a very important position in a small-town hospital. Woo hoo! And on retirement she and her hubs moved to the Niagara area. That I can do too, eventually.
I was thinking about Tatiana the other day and looked for her on facebook, and there she was. Not only was she a great mom and nurse and hospital administrator, she is now a marathon runner and CYCLIST! Since my initial impression of Tatiana was that she was not a natural athlete (and I’m likely wrong here, since baby-led breastfeeding requires lots of sitting,) I am thinking, “If she can do this, maybe I can too?”
What the “do” is maybe a little different – actually, quite a lot different. My marathon-ing will always be fast walking over short distances, and my cycling will likely be waddling for one hour, once a week, at the back of a cycling class. But even Tatiana didn’t go from the chesterfield to the racetrack in a day.
Mother Theresa said, Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” This is doubly true for kind deeds...