exercising

As you may have guessed, I find it incredibly important to record/remember/preserve memories. Only the Lord knows the length of our lives on earth, and I hope and pray the memories I am creating now will be a legacy of love and faith for my children and those who are here after I am gone.

Now, don't know how that got so serious up there in that paragraph before, but in the next ones I just want to leave a memory from my childhood that I remembered up today. One of those that has been buried under some cobwebs for a while...

A miracle has happened in our house this week! I have exercised 3 days in a row. That never happens. And, I have probably just cursed myself by announcing it here. But, I bring it up to say that it got me thinking about exercise.

I loathe to exercise. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. Absolutely hate it. Seriously. It takes a mighty whack across the tush from God above to get me to do it. I would rather do about anything else. You get the point. But, I know I need to do it. Especially now that I am getting "older" and am still lugging around at least 20 extra pounds I earned through my pregnancies. And, now that I know I have high cholesterol. And, because I know my family's incredibly scary histories of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more. Every day I mentally lecture myself about doing good for my body. But most days I don't DO it. At least I have exercised this week. Now, don't ask me about the diet...all that leftover junk food from the Superbowl. Ugh. Eating Cheetos for breakfast is NOT doing good for anyone's body!

Anyway, exercising in front of my kids made me remember my mom exercising when I was little. (I hope this doesn't embarrass you Mom! It's a good thing!) When she was roughly the age I am now and I was roughly the age my kids are now, she did aerobics. A lot. Or at least, that's what my brain remembers. It may not have been every day, but I remember her listening to her Joanie Greggains cassette tapes either in the family room or the kitchen and doing her aerobics. I liked all the great 1980's songs and would sit and sing along. I specifically remember one phrase Joanie would say that I thought was hilarious, "Here comes that cottage cheese falling off the body!" I remember playing in the Collins Church while Mom and several other ladies would work out in their leotards, sweatbands, tights, and legwarmers. Mom also had VHS workout tapes: Denise Austin, Richard Simmons, probably others, and a several of them must have used the Olivia Newton John song, "Let's Get Physical!" And, when I was a little older, I remember going along to Jana's--the place Mom worked out. It was like a dance studio, and the ladies there wore those nifty knit diaper shorts with their tights. They must have been high impact aerobics; I don't know.

Anyway, it would seem like I would have gained something from watching all that exercising my mom did. How did I end up so lazy and undisciplined?! I need to remember the example she set--I should say setS. She still exercises. Maybe I don't learn well from example. Jeremy works out like a crazy man almost every day and has the body to prove it. What's my problem?!?! How do you get that desire? I guess I need to ask the Lord to keep on giving me those big ol' kicks in the tush!