THANKFUL THURSDAY

Today I am thankful for my Yoga class. Although being graceful has never been my greatest talent, I have always been relatively flexible and limber--we called it being "double-jointed" when I was young. In the past ten years or so I have exercised a lot because I was having multiple hip problems which finally culminated in two hip replacements. At first I was led to believe that strengthening my "core" or hip girdle area would make the hip pain go away, so I began a frenzy of exercise programs, work with personal trainers, water therapy, and so on. However, I shied away from Yoga and Pilates because I was fearful that I just could not do those things. Unfortunately, I just never checked them out.

Despite my frenzy of exercise programs, I ended up with two hip replacements. After my second hip replacement my wonderful physical therapist sent me to a place called "Core Power" for further strengthening. It was run by a physical therapist and her husband. Their specialty was a combination of Yoga and Pilates to strengthen the core muscles. I exercised with them for a delightful year of learning how to strengthen muscles to help my aging body work better without wearing out my joints. Now, this summer, I am taking a Yoga class and just loving it. The instructor started out with some simple moves that I was able to do--perhaps not so gracefully, but at least I can achieve the poses and hold them now. The last couple of weeks she has "ramped up" (her words, not mine) the routines and I have struggled to copy her graceful poses. There have been several times when I thought I would collapse due to exhaustion, but I managed to hang in there. My competitive spirit kicks in and I look around thinking, "If they can do it, so can I--huff, huff, puff, puff, breathe, breathe!"

And, so today I am thankful for my Yoga class. And I am even more thankful that my husband is doing it with me! In fact, the class is almost all male--I, as a female, am a minority in the class. That really surprised me when I joined the class, but it made it a good class for my husband to join also and I am thankful that he is there, paying attention to his own strength and flexibility.

Quirk #3 - Journaling and Exercise

3. I get up early (5:30 a.m.) at least 5 mornings a week to journal first and then exercise--even though I am retired. It just starts my day off right!

My husband took the picture on the left yesterday. The lady in blue is a personal trainer but also a good friend named Rebecca. Rebecca is a wonderful help when I have questions about strengthening specific muscle groups. She was a marvelous help through both of my hip surgeries and I was back to the gym in record time because she even came to my house and helped me with exercises at home--terrific massages also!

Talking about Rebecca as a friend reminds me of how many other friends I have made at the gym over the 12 years that I have been going there. Max often precedes me on those machines you can see in the picture, and he can push or pull double the weight that I can. I often tell him that he is a tough man to follow!

Helen has long been my inspiration in exercise. I first met her when I began going to this gym and figured she was about my age although she could run circles around me and was as limber as a pretzel. One day, as I was admiring her flexibility during our stretches, our talk drifted to our age. We compared years and I discovered that she was about 15 years older than I am. My mouth fell open and I decided then and there that I wanted to "grow up" to be like Helen! She is still 15 years older than me and we still meet on the side-by-side treadmills where we catch up on family news and exercise progress.

The dressing room at the gym is also a place where I have found good friendships. Our little 8:00 a.m. group has decided that there are few problems that we cannot put our collective heads together and solve. And those women continue to amaze me! One is a very talented artist. Another woman is just five years younger than I am and still participates in the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii each year! Another surprised us recently by telling us that her book had just been published. We did not even know she had written a book! Her book is Journeys of Heartache and Grace: Conversations and Life Lessons from Young People with Serious Illnesses. Here is a picture of my very own copy--autographed by the author!

Going to the gym is a wonderful way to start my day, boost my metabolism, keep my body in good working order and catch up with friends I have made there.



Now it is your turn to write. Journal about your attitude toward rising early in the morning, exercise and friendships you have made along the way.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I am thankful for many things today, but most importantly I am thankful for my health. This time last year I had just had my second hip replacement. For about 3-4 weeks after the surgery it was really difficult, but then things begin to improve. I am now able to do many, many things that I had discontinued doing before the surgeries due to the pain.

This morning I went to the gym and did the treadmill, the Nautilus elliptical machine and all kinds of exercises to keep the ole body fit and working properly. One of my friends pointed out how well my hips are working compared to a couple of years ago. I am so thankful that I had the surgeries but I am really thankful that it is a year later and I have all that behind me!

I've Been Tagged

I was "tagged" by my daughter-in-law and fellow blogger , Kara. That means that I am supposed to tell you six things about myself that you might not know. Well, here goes:

1. I often wake up at 2:00 a.m. and do my e-mail. I love the quiet time to think and I sometimes get quite creative at that hour, thinking of things that might never occur to me at other times of the day or night.

2. I am an exercise nut! I think I am getting almost fanatical about it, but am determined to keep this body of mine in good shape.

3. I have had two hip replacements in the past year and a half and feel wonderful! Greatest thing I ever did for myself--thus the necessity to keep all those body parts (both old and new!) working well.

4. I love arts and crafts and really love learning new things, but once I learn the craft I usually don't stick with it long. However, I pick up the different skills again from time to time. Right now I am knitting socks, carving some wood, and re-visiting my oil painting days.

5. I do not watch much TV and I cannot handle emotional shows or movies. Same goes for books that are emotional--can't handle that anymore either. I love mysteries, though.

6. I record most of my dreams in my daily journal and try to figure out the meaning that they have for me.

Now that you know more about me than I thought I could tell you, I tag Connie and Patricia.