Day 61/294 Exercise...

Exercise. It is the dirtiest word in my language. It makes me frown. I try and make myself do it, but the excuses just keep coming. This week I gave it a shot. Let me tell you what happened...

Tuesday I made myself go to the YMCA and take the cardio kickboxing class that was being offered. I've had this instructor before and I like her class. I felt great after finishing it, although my face was the color of a ripe plum. I was sweaty, felt like I had a good workout, and was feeling good about myself.

Fast forward to Thursday. I dropped the kids off at the Y and was planning on taking the kickboxing class again. I arrived thirty minutes before the class was to start. The instructor was already there and she asked me, "Would you like to try the abs class before kickboxing?"

Now the title of this class is Absolute Abs. Do I think before I speak? No! Why do I speak before I think it through? Still trying to figure that one out....

"Sure!", I say, thinking that my abs could use A LOT of work. So why not an additional thirty minutes before the kickboxing starts? I would do both classes. Sounded good in theory...

I was the only one in the class. The only one. A private workout with a women who's abs I can count in pairs of two. And me, who is carrying about forty extra pounds around the middle. This wasn't going to be pretty.

Five minutes into the class, I was matching my plum shade from earlier in the week. After five minutes, not forty-five. "How can my abs be so weak?", I thought to myself. I was determined to finish. I was not going to quit.

Ten minutes into the class she started modifying things for me. I think my color was scaring her. She would make comments like, "This is usually done with hand weights, but we are going to skip that tonight.", and "Let me know if you can't handle something...we can change it up for you." How embarrassing!

Twenty minutes into the class I was willing the clock to move faster with my mind. I was thinking, "Is this sweat running down my face? or tears? Maybe blood from my eyeballs?!?!?"

When we hit the thirty minute mark I felt like I had just given birth. My legs were shaking like jello, my heart was beating out of my chest, and my mid-section was still big and flabby. Even after completing that marathon.

The instructor then says, "Why don't you go get a quick drink before we start the kickboxing." WHAT? Is she NUTS?!?!? Does she want to have to call 911?

"Thanks anyways.", I tell her. "Maybe Tuesday again. See you next week." UGH!

I then crawl to my car, collapse behind the wheel, and drive myself home. Sitting behind the wheel for the twenty minute drive home didn't help the situation. When I got out of the car I almost fell because of the way my legs were shaking. What a mess...

What did I learn from this? Well, first, I'm proud of myself for finishing the class. Second, there is no way I am doing that class again anytime soon. Third, I learned that I am really in need of exercise. My body is so out of shape and I am doing myself a disservice by not keeping it in working order. Lastly, I am going to continue to exercise on a consistent basis, but not to that extreme. I don't want to discourage myself from doing it at all.

What is the perfect exercise for me? Only time will tell, but I promise I am going to keep plugging along, trying to find out.

Day 48/294 The morning after....

Last night my "baby" cousin Justin was married to a wonderful girl named Julia. The whole wedding was beautiful and the reception was a blast! They showed a slide show of both of them growing up and their lives together up to this point. It had me taking a trip down memory lane this morning as I was drinking my coffee...

I remember the day Ron and I were married. We went to Hocking Hills in southern Ohio. We had both been married before and we weren't concerned with making it a huge ceremony. We wanted it to be for us and for our kids to see how much we meant to each other.

It was a really dreary weekend in May. It rained all weekend and we were to get married on Sunday at Old Man's Cave. We were starting to get worried about all the rain and if we were going to be able to get married outside. We had been camping since Friday with the kids and all of our stuff was wet and soggy and cold. They say rain on your wedding day is good luck, right? That's what I kept telling myself anyways.

My mom and sister and Ron's parents came down for the ceremony on Sunday. The plan was for them to take the kids back home and we would stay one more night alone before returning home on Monday. I just kept worrying about the rain....

About two hours before we were to get married, the sun started to show itself. It was the first time in three days that we had seen some sunshine. We headed to Old Man's Cave and we were going to walk back to the cave to get married. The trail leading back to the cave is paved so we didn't have mud to contend with. Thank God! As I started to look around, I noticed that all of the trees and their leaves were glistening with the rain drops that were still clinging to them. It was so beautiful! The waterfall, which usually is just a drip at that time of year, was actually coming down at a nice stream. We were married in front of the waterfall, with our families there, in the sunshine. I can still remember how fresh everything smelled that day. It was perfect!

That was nine and a half years ago. Ron and I have been through a lot of difficult situations in those years. Life has dealt us some blows. We have lost grandparents, we have had illnesses and surgeries (ourselves and with family), we have been financially strapped, we have had issues with our ex-spouses, we now have three teenagers in our household. Enough said.

Through all of these times we have always stayed strong together. He is truly the love of my life and my best friend. He makes me laugh everyday with his sense of humor. He melts my heart when he looks at me and smiles. He is the person I want to grow old with.

I guess in writing this, I just wanted to say, that no matter what type of wedding you have, the most important part is who you are marrying, not the details of the day. Your wedding day is only the beginning. It is the day your marriage starts. It is the start of your life together and nothing can beat a good, strong marriage. It doesn't matter what is thrown at you. If you are there for each other, you can conquer anything life throws your way.

Last night at the wedding, I could see how much Justin and Julia are in love. My hope for them is that they keep that love and happiness with each other, even through the tough times. I hope they are as happy ten years down the road in their marriage, as I am in mine today.

Congratulations Justin and Julia!