AEROBICS

I always thought I had rhythm. As a kid my parents always had the radio on and when a favorite song would play they would grab hold of each other and dance their way around our ever so small living room. I remember watching them in awe, the way they could move together so smoothly, fast, slow, never stepping on each others feet, never loosing that graceful rhythm. After a while they would swing me into their dance, in their arms or standing on my dads toes and I would twirl around with them lost in the beat of the music.
So, naturally, when aerobics made its appearance in the late 60's early 70's all of us young wives and mothers saw this as a great way to loose that extra 20 pounds. The local high school offered evening aerobics classes so a group of us signed up. The gym was huge so there was plenty of room for all to spread out, dressed in our finest aerobic outfits . . . baggy sweat pants and an extra baggy tee shirt. (This was just the beginning of the fitness craze and we did not yet have a wardrobe of "work out" clothes.) This was just a bunch of young moms, out for a free night away from the kids and looking to "bust some moves". Visions of the not so long ago dating scene at some disco we were ready to move and groove. Fortunately for all I chose a spot at the back of the gym. NO one going to watch this fat ass moving and grooving, thank you very much. And then the instructor turned on the music and off we went.
And a one and a two and a three . . . step step right, step step left, turn, slide step step back, step step forward, turn slide . . . OH GOD . . . what am I doing here? Everyone was going right and I was going left, everyone was going forward and I was going back. Yes, I had rhythm but I lacked coordination! It wasn't pretty. After the first session I never went back. I just didn't fit into the whole aerobic culture.
Until today! My next door neighbor invited me to join her at water aerobics at our community pool. Thankfully without music and in water up to my neck water aerobics is much easier. If you fall over you just get wet and you don't take down the three people around you. It was a great hour of exercise run by a young thing with a killer body but all around me were other women of a certain age who have had hip and knee replacements and were just out for an hour of exercise. I LOVED IT! No sweating to the oldies, you're in a pool so even if you are sweating you don't know it. No music to distract me from remembering which way is left and which was is right. When I lost control and my body got moving in directions I hand no control over I just floated till I came to rest. (Think a boat that looses it's engines or rudder. Not very poetic but you get the picture.) It was GREAT! I actually had a few laughs with the other ladies and at the end of the class I felt so good I dove under water to celebrate, much to the horror of the other women who couldn't get their hair or makeup wet. Can you believe wearing make up and your gold jewelry to go exercise? I guess I just don't really fit in here either.