Summer has arrived. There is a very clear way to tell when summer has
arrived in Ohio. It has nothing to do with the weather; Mother Nature in Ohio
needs to be on some serious antipsychotic drugs and the weather can fluctuate
wildly in one day. In the span of 24 hours you could run the air conditioning
and the furnace. Even in the summer it is a good idea to keep jackets in the
car because you just never know when the temperature will drop by 20-30
degrees. No, in Ohio you can tell summer has arrived when orange barrels sprout
along the sides of highways. The orange barrels and dropped speed limits
despite a lack of any work being done signal that summer has arrived.
Because summer has arrived I have started thinking about how out of shape I am. Perhaps it's unfair but I do blame some of it on my kids. Four pregnancies kind of wreck your body. Muscles get stretched, joints get discombobulated, it's chaos. With my oldest I did take advantage of being pregnant and ate whatever I wanted when I wanted. With him, I didn't gain much and my body bounced back pretty quickly. That didn't happen again. The rest I had gestational diabetes and there was no bouncing back. With my second child I would watch in mild horror as each appointment, which I had to go in twice a week, I'd see I'd gained a pound or two. When I was pregnant with my last child I stuck to the not looking and the good old, "la, la, la, I'm not listening", when they'd mention how much I weighed. It's easier on the mental stability.
With summer arriving I've been trying to be more active. I've been trying to do more walking, which with kids in tow makes a lot less of a physical workout and a major exercise in patience. I also signed up for a yoga class. I've done yoga at home following a DVD, and it isn't the same. At home it was more leisurely and I might get a little bit of sweat. Taking the class, I'm drenched in sweat and the next day muscles I didn't even know I had are aching. Anyone that mocks the exercise merits of yoga should try a class and then decide the next day if they still feel the same way about it. I'm also considering jogging. The problem is I don't run. I haven't ran (other than a quick burst to catch a kid getting too close to the road) since my age was single digits. I was the bane of my high school gym teacher's existence because I wouldn't run, well technically participate in any way. Every year we had a week or two of running around the track. Sprints, long runs, all of it I walked. He probably still remembers me, and most likely has the desire to use impolite language if he thinks of me. Because of this I don't really know how to jog. I know, very weird, but true. There should be special classes for the exercise inept.
Because summer has arrived I have started thinking about how out of shape I am. Perhaps it's unfair but I do blame some of it on my kids. Four pregnancies kind of wreck your body. Muscles get stretched, joints get discombobulated, it's chaos. With my oldest I did take advantage of being pregnant and ate whatever I wanted when I wanted. With him, I didn't gain much and my body bounced back pretty quickly. That didn't happen again. The rest I had gestational diabetes and there was no bouncing back. With my second child I would watch in mild horror as each appointment, which I had to go in twice a week, I'd see I'd gained a pound or two. When I was pregnant with my last child I stuck to the not looking and the good old, "la, la, la, I'm not listening", when they'd mention how much I weighed. It's easier on the mental stability.
With summer arriving I've been trying to be more active. I've been trying to do more walking, which with kids in tow makes a lot less of a physical workout and a major exercise in patience. I also signed up for a yoga class. I've done yoga at home following a DVD, and it isn't the same. At home it was more leisurely and I might get a little bit of sweat. Taking the class, I'm drenched in sweat and the next day muscles I didn't even know I had are aching. Anyone that mocks the exercise merits of yoga should try a class and then decide the next day if they still feel the same way about it. I'm also considering jogging. The problem is I don't run. I haven't ran (other than a quick burst to catch a kid getting too close to the road) since my age was single digits. I was the bane of my high school gym teacher's existence because I wouldn't run, well technically participate in any way. Every year we had a week or two of running around the track. Sprints, long runs, all of it I walked. He probably still remembers me, and most likely has the desire to use impolite language if he thinks of me. Because of this I don't really know how to jog. I know, very weird, but true. There should be special classes for the exercise inept.
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