Singin' The Me Song!

Me, myself and I voted, and we all decided that (at least for tonight) ... I ROCK!!!

I just got home from a Zumba class, and I kicked some serious Zumba butt!

A couple of months ago, I got a deal to get 20 classes for $20. And seeing as the classes are usually $5 each, that's a really good deal.

The first class I went to, I was really nervous. I was expecting to walk into a class full of skinny little girls who were in run-four-marathons-in-a-row kind of shape. Happily, I walked into a class of a bunch of women (and one man) who were in all different shapes and age brackets. I fit right in.

Some people would be surprised to learn that I haven't made any friends at my classes, and I don't really talk to anybody. Some of the women hang out after class and chat, but not me. I get in my car, roll down the windows, open the sun roof and head home with the wind blowing in my hair. It's MY time, and I don't want to share it with anybody.

I really enjoy the classes. The music is loud. The dance steps are fun. I sweat so much that it looks like I just stepped out of the shower. And even though my outward appearance hasn't changed that much, I can tell that my body is appreciating my efforts. I can tell that I've built up my stamina. Walking up stairs, walking up hills ... it's all a little easier these days than it used to be.

Most of the dance steps are built around Latin dance steps ... salsa, cha-cha-cha, mambo ... but our teacher gets a little creative and adds in his own moves. Did I mention that it's a lot of fun?

Tonight was my 16th class, so I've had some time to learn a lot of moves. But until tonight, there were still some steps that I had to cheat on. The technical term is called step modification, but I've always felt like I was cheating. The step modifications are for people who have physical limitations or who, like me, just aren't in good enough shape to do them.

Tonight started with Jeff having to work later than he had expected. So I had to pick up Biscuit. We got home, and I changed my clothes. Then one thing after another started happening. Next thing I knew, it was 6:47, and I was leaving the house. I need to leave no later than 6:40 to make it to class, sign in, get the spot I like and get my head clear enough to enjoy myself. Leaving at 6:47 did not allow me to do those last two things.

I threw my shoes on without even tying them and ran out the door. I caught every single stoplight on the way. It seemed like all the cars in front of me were out to see how slowly they could drive. I kept thinking all the way there, "I should just go back home. I don't want to go if I'm going to walk in late. Why am I doing this?" I walked in and couldn't find my punch card. It had somehow got shifted to the N's instead of being in the M's. Then the spot I like was taken. Then I realized all the spots were taken except for the two right in front of the teacher. I am no way brave enough to take one of those spots.

So I stood at the very back, just off the squishy mats, on the concrete floor, hoping it wouldn't aggravate a couple of nagging foot injuries and a leg problem.

I started moving, and I started feeling good. Next thing you know, we were halfway through the class. It seemed like pretty soon after that, we were doing the cool down.

It was then that I realized, I didn't do a single step modification. Tonight, I did ALL the steps. No cheating!

When I walked in the front door, Biscuit greeted me. "I'm so happy to see you, Mom. Where have you been?"

"I've been to dance class," I told him.

"Did you have fun at your dance class?" he asked (or dance cass, as he says it).

I said to him, "Yes, baby. I sure did!"