wait for it

It's a Friday night, my husband's away, I'm not in a particularly good mood, and I'd like to finish two things I started last night: True Grit , and a bottle of wine. But I need to jump around instead. And get to bed early, so I can jump around in the morning. The life of a fitness instructor: no one warned me. The body must be ready, as must the mind. The body, however, requires more discipline, in my opinion. You can wing the mental stuff, but the physical tests your humility. You thought you were Wonder Woman, you're not Wonder Woman. And here's the proof. As for jumping tonight, I need to test out some of my ideas before I insist on them tomorrow. My class is a lovely bunch, very appreciative of any and all ass-kickings, and I must deliver. This is not the kind of class I can instruct from afar--I'm doing and demonstrating through most of it. Jumping jacks. Taking some guy's hard punches into the mitts and demanding he hit harder. Holding off on the ...

...a couple months earlier. Dang it.

Don't tell the internet filters, but something had to be done. Googling "sea monkey sex" was the least I could do; six hours had passed since I took note that two were still attached. SIX. Then seven. Eight. Finally I read the small print and learned they may keep this up for a few weeks. On my kitchen windowsill, whirling about while I slice strawberries and scrape the pots and pans. WEEKS. While swimming. Those not attached at the present are already with child, and each of these ladies may produce 20 offspring. I tell you, the babies aren't babies for long; it was all cute when the specks finally became visible, but the rate at which they grow is alarming. Twenty each would equal 60 more, and once the amorous couple takes a breather, it's safe to say we'll have 80. That'll be in two weeks, right about when my husband returns from a long trip. At least someone's getting some action around here. And what are these things, anyway? Crustaceans, yes,...

It's the third week of school. My husband had been taking the kids to the bus stop, a new location, and I would pick them up afternoons until Tuesday, when I filled in the morning shift. Walking the few blocks there, I spied the other kids and asked mine why they were all standing across from where I stand to pick them up. "I don't know," my son said. "We just do." The bus arrives, stops, flashes its lights, extends its gate, and the kids begin to cross the narrow neighborhood road in order to get to the bus's door. The driver yells at them to wait for her hand signal. They back up to the corner, she waves, they cross again. "Why doesn't everyone just stand on the other side of the road like we do in the afternoons?" I ask a mom who stands with me every weekday at 4pm. "I don't know," she said. "We just do." Wednesday. I walk my kids to--you guessed it--the other side of the road. Some kids remain standing in the usu...

Yesterday I led an 81-year-old man through an orientation on nautilus machines. Later that night, I hung out at a boxing gym and got to know a 16-year-old boy whose world is very different from mine. Today I interviewed a woman in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for an article I'm writing. Tonight, I'll attend curriculum night at my kid's school. Later this week, I'll lead a fitness class, and on Sunday I'll start some former prisoners talking about their next play, which I'll write and direct. Today I revel in the variety of jobs I do, yet there have been moments when I wished I had, at some point, specialized in a subject area. I wonder if my inability to settle derives from my childhood growing up between two homes, and if there are aspects which are unhealthy. Today, however, I will be thankful for the diverse people I meet, and grateful for the work I have to do.

UPDATE: LISA RESPONDED TO THIS POST. Check out her expert advice at The Glowing Edge . ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This isn't a Your Questions Answered so much as I Had A Question But You Wanted To Hear My Thoughts First So You Can Respond In Your Blog So Here's What I Was Thinking . I had asked Lisa at The Glowing Edge a boxing question, because I really respect her opinions, and she answered my question with a question. Don't you hate when people do that? But Lisa wanted to know more, and promised to reciprocate; she'd blog in response to my post addressing her question based on my question. What question? How much should you learn before you spar, and at what point do you get in the ring and learn there? It's to do with boxing, but there are general theories at play here, so I welcome the input of boxers and nonboxers alike. Dear Lisa, The young man faces me, squatting as he lowers the headgear to...

1. Bought shorts as school clothes just before the weather turned 2. Took kids to wrong bus stop on first day of school 3. Walked around husband's staff party with toilet paper hanging off my pants