Meet me at the gym!! We’ll have muffins! (or get rid of ’em….. whichever!)

The word “tight” can mean so many things.  There’s 14 varied definitions in WordBook!

• In music —  it’s a good thing…. as in tight harmony.
• In construction — it’s a good thing… a tight roof or we’re warm in our tight little house.
• In security — we want tight…. our curtains are drawn tight, the bolts are locked tight.
• But where my britches are concerned, TIGHT has created a real problem for me!

And so,…. because it was Monday, and because I have an upcoming trip to Texas where I won’t be able to wash my only 2 pairs of decent fitting pants every other day, I decided that today is the day.  THIS day I will do something about all this. TODAY!

I’ve attempted “diets” before.  I don’t even like typing the word.  Food is such a joyous thing to me and “diet” speaks of restriction and restraint.  I love freedom and total abandon where my food is concerned!  Food is more than just fuel to me.  I love planning it, preparing it, reading about it, sharing it, and for sure I love tasting it, indulging in it, savoring it, appreciating it.  Which is exactly why I am in no way tempted by prepared/pre-packaged, Sam’s Club-type fare!  Ahhhh, but the homemade stuff…. that’s art in the making, and I can appreciate it with the best of ‘em!  I appreciate high quality ingredients, I applaud skill and creativity, I delight in the finished product!

So…. all that said, in my new fervor I decided I needed to join the gym.  Just saying that sounds so healthy and organic and trendy to me!  “Can you meet on Monday?” …… “oh nooo, I go to the gym on Monday mornings”!  It just has a ring to it, doesn’t it!  It makes me sound really cool and with-it.  (probably using the word “with-it” just nullified any attempt on my part at appearing cool.) But anyway…. my plan was in place and before I could back off, I went and put on my only set of “active wear” that I own.  “Active” just hasn’t been a word in the forefront of my vocabulary, wardrobe, or lifestyle.  But that was before TODAY!

Now I realize it would’ve sounded a whole lot better if I had joined one of those cool gyms with a cool name…..  as opposed to the Jonesborough Senior Center!  But hey…. if the birth certificate fits, flaunt it!  And it was SO CHEAP!  $20 for the year!  And oh my goodness, the perks are unbelievable!  After I got all signed up, the little gal at the desk tried her best to get me to go to the “Empowering Yourself Financially” class which was starting in just 10 minutes.  She told me “they have Dunkin’ Doughnuts!”  I was tempted, but I really wasn’t in the mood to do estate planning today, plus I was thinking, I basically just need to be able to button my bluejeans without creating a muffin-top!  So I opted to wait for the 10:15 Silver Sneakers Circuit Class.

Can I say that EVERYTHING was new to me.  I know lots of ladies have done lots of various classes down through the years, but not me.  Remember?  “Active”…. not in my vocabulary!  But I went to the supply closet and I copied what the other ladies were doing.  I got my bowl, I got my weights, I got my rubber band, I got my ball.  I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do with any of it,….. but I had it!

Bottom line….. I did it!  I survived the 45 minute Silver Sneaker Circuit Class!  I lifted my one-pound weights, I tossed my ball in the air, I walked with it between my legs, I rolled it down my back (and then handily chased it across the room cause I didn’t catch it!), and I snapped that rubber band under my foot and lifted with the best of ‘em!  It did SNAP loose the first time, and I felt like I could’ve easily put my eye out; but I eventually got the hang of it!  I couldn’t figure out what in the world we were gonna do with that bowl.  It would’ve made a nice popcorn bowl, had they served snacks, but alas it turned out it was only to house the ball! Oh well….. snacks go with Estate Planning…. not Silver Sneakers.  I get that.

Can I just say that I was beyond prissy when I came outta that class!  I felt so FIT and energized!  And I left there and went straight to the grocery store (still wearing my active-wear mind ya) and there amongst the lettuce, I saw one of my class-mates!  I said, “Oh, is this what ya do…. come to the grocery store afterwards?”  Oh yeah, I got this!  So I bought my lettuce, and then I went and bought my shrimp and cocktail sauce, and supper now has a plan!

When Carl got home he wanted to know all about it.  I have a SIXTEEN PAGE BOOK telling all the goings ons at the Jonesborough Senior Center! And next month I get ANOTHER 16-page book!  I told Carl we could do it all…..  Silver Sneakers is just the beginning!  They have cooking classes, ballroom dancing, pool table and shuffle board, card games galore, lunch every single day and it’s FREE on Wednesday!  We can get our blood pressure checked, go on field trips and vacations, learn to make fall wreaths, and take Bible study!  A whole new world has opened up to we Littles!  Or maybe just me.  He didn’t exactly tell me to make him a sign-up appointment!

Well, I’d love to chat more, but I’ve got shrimp to fix and spinach to wash, radishes to slice and cheese to grate!  Gee, I’m gonna miss my bread…… I think bread is what got me into this muffin-top dilemma though.  Anybody need a big ole round of homemade sourdough bread?