Pre-Gaming

I've never been a partier, but as a fan and viewer of copious amounts of Seth Rogen movies, I know that "pre-gaming" is getting ready for a party before you go...usually by consuming alcohol before you consume more of it. There will be no alcohol consumption for this lady but I did decide to get a jump start on some of my goals.

Recently, Camp Gladiator was having a sale for one day only where their camp was--wait for it--EIGHT. DOLLARS. How could I pass up that price?!  I'm a little scared about doing a boot camp again, though. My knees are a little more fragile since I've gained so much and have had a somewhat sedentary job for the past few years. The instructors seem really cool and I'm super excited to start. There are TONS of locations in Austin, which is helpful. I chose the one near my husband's work so if I have a near-death experience, he's close by.

Swimming has never come naturally to me. I remember being in swim classes with my mom when I was very little and the water was only two feet high. Even with her permed head in the distance, I was terrified. When I got older, at the same rec center (Rosemeade represent!), I took swimming classes and sucked horribly. I naturally just kind of sink.

My in-law's have a fantastic pool that we swim in occasionally when we go over there. I've gotten better over the years with more focus and practice. Hubs and I would have races to see who could swim fastest. Usually it was him. Ok, like, 99.9% of the time it was him. But he's tall.

Tonight I decided to start swimming again. My sister suggested we go swimming the few times she's been in Texas this summer and I'll be honest--swimming makes me tired. I'm also embarrassed by my crappy swimming and her being much more fit than me (side note: this is very hard for me to confess, but I am trying to grow as a person, right?). I just never had it in me to go swimming around anyone.

Our apartment complex has a pretty nice, shallow pool right next to our building. This summer it has been inundated with gaggles of children and drunk people but since school started, its been much calmer. I got my bikini on (yep, you read that right), kissed my hubby goodbye and let him know where I was going, and marched down our three flights of stairs towards the pool.

I noticed a family swimming, but it was fine. The dad was trying to teach these two little kids to swim with their boogie board things. I used to love mine. The mom was very friendly and helped me get into the gate...which was really confusing.

After setting down my towel, I debated whether or not to take off the clothes over my suit. There were little kids, after all, and why should they be subject to my hideous form? I took a deep breath, told myself that I have every right to be there too, and they ARE kids. They need to see people that are different than them.

Off came my glasses, and I stepped into the pool. It was nice and comfortable but being blind in there isn't fun. Now I know why Arthur wore his glasses while swimming all the time!

I completed some laps, not touching thankyouverymuch, did some leg and arm kicks, and ran across the pool, doing a set of 10 pushups when I reached each end. In that time, one of the kids was curious and started swimming to me. I was just doing leg exercises and complimented her by saying what a good swimmer she is. She looked back at her mom, then to me. "Thank you," came from her little voice. "You're a good swimmer, too."

After that sweet exchange, I felt a bit more confident about my abilities in the water. This little kid didn't make a comment about what I looked like. She was just trying to be kind and friendly. How lovely is that?!

I cannot tell you how accomplished I feel for doing something so small. I'm trying to get my act together and am so happy I've found one type of exercise that doesn't hurt my feet or legs and that feels great. I plan on googling for more aqua aerobic exercises.

This is what I call pre-gaming.

Tomorrow, I'm going to catch up on my homework as well as go to an orientation meeting for a really awesome volunteer opportunity. New friends, opportunities, and adventure. Sounds like a great way to start my birthday week!