Follow up on new classes

Tai Chi: 2 sessions so far.  Sweet Hubby and I are taking this together.  I'm really liking it, and like the teacher and that he is going slowly, going over the moves multiple times.  As gentle and easy as it looks, the moves are quite precise, and I'm happy to go over the same section of moves many tines.  I'd like to get this into my muscle memory.

Clogging: 1 session.  I think I'm really going to like this, enough that I'm planning to get the special tap shoes cloggers use.  (Regular tap shoes have one tap on the toe, clogging shoes have double taps.)  If I keep up with it and want to do it more, I'm not sure where to go for that.  I'll have to look up if there are clogging groups in the area.

Bridge: 3 sessions.  Bridge is kicking my butt.  Every session is 2 1/2 hours, and by the end, I've usually at least somewhat understood a few of the concepts (how to read one's hand, how to make an opening bid, how to respond to an opening bid, how to read one's partner's signals, etc), but I also end up feeling cotton-headed and lost.  Fortunately the other players who are as green at this as I assure me that they are also feeling lost and stupid, and the more experienced players promise us that we actually are learning and all will become clear eventually.

Essentrics: 2 sessions.  This is a wonderful all-over workout for seniors, focusing on strength, balance, stretching, joint care, posture.  I'm enjoying it and, because I workout so often, am able to follow the teacher's moves really well.  Still, it shocked me when, in the last class, I noticed how difficult it is for me now to get up from the floor to standing.  I've been working out regularly almost my entire life and have always taken great pride in my strength, but now I have to get off the floor in stages, carefully, one move at a time, with effort.  How is it possible that I'm so strong but am struggling with this?  Well, the answer certainly must be that I'm 72 and simply am not and will never be as strong as I used to be, no matter how many classes I take or workouts I do.  And that's just how it is now.  I'll keep working out, both at home and in whatever classes sound interesting, but I have now as another goal to accept and honor where my body and I are, what we can and can't do together, how much to expect and what expectations to let go of.

Days full of new

Well, this has been quite a stretch of days.

Today is Wed.  On Monday I had my first mock interview as part of my training for the program in the criminal justice system in which actors portray children who are either witnesses to or victims of some kind of crime or abuse.  Mock interviews are part of the extensive training the actors receive before being put into the rotation, to be interviewed by lawyers, social workers, and police.  I'd been preoccupied with preparing for this interview for a few days.  I know I'm good at playing adults in similar sorts of scenario trainings, but playing a child is a very different sort of challenge, and I didn't know if I would be good at it.

The mock interview went really well.  The woman in charge of the program coached me through the interview, and I found myself really getting into the spirit of this little 6-year-old girl.  At the end of the session, my trainer said I'm ready to start being used in the program.  I'm thrilled about that.  In the upcoming programs, I will continue to play this particular little girl.  It's a fairly easy assignment.  She has not been the victim of abuse, only witnessed it, so she is not particularly traumatized.  The program materials describe her as "upbeat throughout the interview".  

Now it's Thursday.  Still so busy.

On Monday evening, I had my first bridge lesson.  It was 2 1/2 hours long, and by the end of it, my head was pretty full.  I enjoyed the other folks in the class, and I'm sure I'll enjoy the game once I get the hang of it, but so far I'm feeling a bit at sea with trying to understand it.

Tuesday Sweet Hubby and I had our first Tae Chi class at the nearby rec center.  He took Tae Chi a few years ago at a community college, so he's a bit ahead of me.  I was surprised to find that my balance wasn't very steady.  That's something I focus on during my workouts, and have considered myself to be good at balancing, but I felt pretty unsteady through some of the class.  Also I kept getting mixed up about which leg and arm to move, depending on whether I was watching the teacher directly or through the mirror. Both bridge and Tae Chi have so far been fun but humbling.  I suppose it's silly to want to be good at something on my first attempt. 

Wednesday I took my first class in an exercise program called Essentrics, which is designed for seniors.  It's a good overall body workout, not aerobic but great for strength, posture, flexibility, and, once again, for balance, which I need more than I realized.

On Saturday I'll take my first clogging class.  I seem to have had a burst of wanting to try new things, so my schedule is really full, including several upcoming theater tickets to 3 different shows as well as the usual getting together with friends.  And I'm actively working on 3 different writing projects.  Gosh but I love my life. 

A pond in the mountains

Yesterday Sweet Hubby and I drove into the mountains with friends to take a hike around Gold Creek Pond, which is not quite an hour outside the city.  I've been wanting to do this particular hike ever since I learned of it not too long ago.

It's an easy hike, roughly paved, pretty flat, probably only a mile or so long, around a gorgeously blue-green pond, which is almost big enough to call a lake.  I shouldn't really even call it a hike; it's more of a nature walk, both wheelchair and stroller accessible. 

The best part of the day was spending time with our friends.  Also lunch at a restaurant near a ski area.  Also I was able to scratch something off my Someday list.  All in all, a very good day.

Taking the train

Since 2021, I have been taking the Link Light Rail train whenever possible.  I love getting where I'm going without having to fight traffic, and especially glad not to have to find parking.  Until last weekend, the closest station was a drive of about 20 minutes south of home.

Last weekend, the new extension of the rail opened, four stations going north, one of which is a less than 18 minute walk from home.  Sweet Hubby and I decided to make a day of exploring the new stations.  We drove to the farthest north terminal, found an absolutely wonderful breakfast restaurant, then got on the train and headed south.

We got off the train at every station so that we could see each layout, color palette (I love that there are 3 ways to us that word, each one spelled differently), and artwork.  Each station is decorated differently, sometimes with bold, bright, obvious artworks, sometimes with more subtle works which must be looked for.

This day gave me the greatest feeling of joy, partly because I have looked forward to it for several years, and partly because I got to share it with SH.  Now that I can walk to one of the stations, I will be able to leave the car at home almost every time I use the train, and will get some good steps in as well.  Such a small thing to be so happy about, but happy I am in a most contented way.