End Of An Era

It happened today. I went to the Plymouth LTF and there was no trace of me in the computer. Of course it didn't help that my membership card has been missing for about a month and I still don't know what happened to my Drivers ID today. As I was digging through my bag trying to find my ID, they asked my last name, then my address, and finally my phone number. Then it occurs to me they are not trying to verify who I am, there trying to find my membership period. Well then, no magical date, just donzo. I've been a member at Life Time since high school, and not just a member but an ACTIVE member.
Of course I was all pumped to workout AFTER my membership disappeared so I got it in my head I should check out the Snap Fitness down the road. It was the most awkward experience, I didn't know how to act. Most of my time spent in competitors clubs in the last 9 years was spent lying to the people about why I was there. It was almost a confession as soon as I walked in the door. I was antsy as the sales guy talked about the club because, really, I knew everything already. Hell, I could see everything from where I stood! And $40 too! I have a hard time with that because you get so much more at Life Time for about $20 more. Granted, a lot of people never use the other stuff (let alone their memberships period) and it's really a way just to rope people in with the attraction that it's available to them. I, however, did use most of the gym and so I will miss it. There was a day when I thought I would teach aerobics until I couldn't anymore. Not having a membership at LTF was never even a possibility, and yet here I am. I wonder what is going to happen to my body. Will I have enough imagination and motivation to keep it up, especially during the winter?
I can't think about it right now, one day at a time.

Summer Under Way (P)

So I Walk into the Room...

Funny story. The fam went to a wedding this weekend, the first of five (so far) this year. It's getting late and I'm chasing the kids around the Arboretum in Chanhassen and I walk into the reception hall to see Haylie sitting on her dad's lap giving me the finger. Yes, "the finger" with a sort of bewildered smile on her face. I walk closer, thinking to myself " I can't BELIEVE he taught her that", when another thought enters my mind, "oh, she's trying to show me an owie." Needless to say, the next morning as Tommy lay in bed trying to ignore the rest of us, I tell him "you've got to see what Haylie was showing me at the reception last night." Right on cue, Haylie gives her dad the finger. Ya buddy, that's what you get for trying to sleep in in the morning. ;o)

Blessed by Sticking It Out

F R E E, that spells free, creditreport.com baby! Just kidding.

Haylie knows how to spell free and the story goes like this...we were all in the bathroom one day while mommy was going potty and she pulled a coupon flier for a local grocery store out of our bathroom reader basket. She opened and said, "look mom, free ice cream!" I told her that was very good and explained it was "buy one get one free." I also told her that whenever she sees that she should tell me. Got to take advantage of FREE, ya know.

On the news the other night I saw that Como Zoo was offering free rides during the week from 4pm to 8pm. Kind of off hours to be venturing into the city, but I couldn't let that stop us from taking advantage of it. So I gathered some other moms and their kids and planned a trip. Yes, I knew it was going to probably be busy but I don't think I GRASPED that is was going to be busy. We got there about 3 and struggled to find parking. Then we struggled to move in the zoo once we got in the entrance. The rides were open, but they weren't free until 4. At 4 the rides were swamped and the zoo opened up so we did the animals for a while. After about an hour or so of that, we braced ourselves and headed for the rides. I so wanted to bail standing in line for our first ride for the spinning tea cup but I knew I had to do at least one ride. After the one ride I suggested we finish some of the zoo stuff and then try again. The zoo closed and I let my kids run free in the grass as people headed for their cars. I told the other mothers I was thinking about leaving. They however had already been persuaded by their children to stay and didn't want to fight traffic trying to go home anyway. A brief thought came to me..."I invited them, who am I to cut out now?" So we stuck it out and did two more rides, which took another hour. It really wasn't too bad standing in line. We had snacks which kept the kids entertained and we took pictures which guaranteed we'd have fond memories to recall. I'm SO glad we stayed. I feel like I was blessed by sticking out. Being an only child, I really didn't have to stick things out if I didn't want to, my parents were usually pretty accommodating. It may seem so simple and silly to some, but it was a great lesson to me. Just because there is resistance and it's uncomfortable doesn't mean it's not worth it. It was a bonding experience of sorts with the other moms. And like I said, we have pictures to prove how much we love our children.

Cutting the Strings

Ok, so June 1st has passed and I'm still on unemployment. I had said I wanted to make a decision on whether or not I was going to stay home and, if the answer was yes, I was going to stop my unemployment. If it's Gods will for me to stay home than I believe that I need to get rid of the crutch, stop trusting in the government and in myself, and start leaping towards faith. The BIG question is, does God want me to stay home? That brings me back to the layoff. I remember finding out it was going to happen, the shock, sadness, fear, and RELIEF that came with the news. I truly believe that I never would have quit my job myself and that I never would have stayed unemployed in any other market. That brings me to a whole other subject. It's one thing to know what God's will is for you, it's another thing to let Him take you there. There have been times that I knew God wanted something to change in my life and I tried to change it myself. Sounds silly, but when I tried, it didn't work, I would fail. But God hits the mark every time and you KNOW it's God doing it. I KNOW God took me out. So do I trust God enough to wait for Him now? Am I keeping my ears open to his calling? Somethings going to have to give sooner or later because I can see this path cannot continue the way it is, WE cannot continue with things the way they are. God, move or move us!

Strong Man (V)