Exercising My Independence

I've been told that in order for me to feel better about my life, I probably need to get in better shape.  Boy, I sure would like to get really fit and muscular like I was in my late teens.  Yeah, like that guy in the picture.  I'm afraid, however, it will be a very hard climb to get even close to that.....but I'm going to try.

I promised a friend that I'd work out EVERY DAY in some form or fashion, even if it meant just walking for 20 minutes and documenting it.  So, I'm doing this.  Here's how it's going:

1st day, June 2nd - Thought about working out and how I was going to do this with a painful knee.  Not sure how I injured my knee, but I need to see a doctor, I guess.

June 3rd - Went to gym and got on treadmill for 7 minutes..  Yay...small steps.

June 4th - Went swimming.  Knee hurts too much for treadmill.

June 5th - Nada.

June 6th - Swam.  So crowded I had to share a lane with someone.  I felt self-conscious about just floating around in the water like a leaf with a guy in the same lane who appeared to be training to swim the English Channel, so I stepped it up a notch.  Wanted to stay out of his way and NOT meet up with him at the end of the lane.  People don't look good with swim face...mouth agape trying to get air into your lungs, hair all akimbo, and sometimes  things dripping out of the orafices in your face....just best to avoid being forced into a conversation.  Had a pretty good workout.

June 7th - Got balls-y today and took an Aqua Fit class.  Here is where the action happened!

My Plan

Many of us get to our 40's and re-evaluate our lives.  The picture of how we saw ourselves as a young person when the slate was clean and the future was fresh and open is not exactly how it turns out.  While not always a bad thing, some of us have this nagging feeling of missed opportunities or adventure-not-taken about our lives.  That, coupled with pain in our knees, aversion to late-night events and frequent heartburn puts many of us in the spiral of depression, marked primarily with the thought that it's-too-late-for-us to do anything crazy, big, adventurous, etc.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network have been studying this phenomenon since 1994.  Their findings, interpreted by Lifetwo.com, say that the data suggests that only 5-12% of middle-aged people actually experience a midlife crisis.  I would hazard a guess that this number is low, but hate that I'm in that group.  I'm going to do something about it!

Hello!

Welcome to my blog!  So, this is my plan:  no more inaction.  No more feeling sorry for the life that I've wasted not pursuing my dreams.  I want to do the things I've always wanted to do, always dreamed of doing, always was afraid of doing before it's too late. Mark Twain said that it's always the things in life that you didn't do that you regret the most.  And, Dave Matthews said, "The future is no place to place your better days."   In the same vein as Nike's famous slogan, "Just Do It", I will spend the next year trying really hard to add some life in the years of my life that remain.

I have a good life.  I have a wonderful husband and family who love and support me.  I have a job as a high school teacher where I get to positively influence young people.  I have relatively good health, minus the occasional foot pain and pulled muscles.  I have a nice home in a nice neighborhood with nice neighbors and a wonderful circle of friends.  So, you may ask....why the change?  I don't want to change things, just add to the life that I already have.  Fill in what's missing, so to speak.  That void is strong and will pull you in if you let it.  I have been pulled in and now I want out.

I hope that I can influence you, too, to get out there and do "stuff" and have adventure and follow your dreams.  Pursue this project with me and let me know how it's going.  Treat life as dessert...and savor it first!