Fresh Start Fitness

I always feel depressed at back-to-school time. I enjoy my kids when they are home for the summer, I hate packing lunches, but mostly I grieve for how much they’ve grown and changed from the start of one grade to the next. This year was especially hard for a few reasons:

This kid is in seventh grade. Which is very weird since I’m pretty sure that last year I was in seventh grade. He has a phone and he texts a girl. What in the world?!

This kid is in fifth grade which is very weird since I’m pretty sure he was born like a week ago. Again, what in the world?!

And this little dude started preschool which is weird because I know I’m going to blink my eyes and tomorrow he’ll be going to kindergarten and next week he’ll be the one with the phone and texting his girlfriend. And I’ll be, what? Sitting at home while those three conquer the world? No. Because…

I am also back to school this year! I started a Master’s degree in Exercise Science. I have more tenacity now that I’m a real actual grown-up that I didn’t have as an undergrad student. I appreciate a challenge and recognize that the reward pay-out is better when I work hard to achieve something difficult. And difficult it will be, because I’m not a fresh-out-of-college student. I haven’t taken a science class in over 15 years! So I’m feeling excited, a little nervous, and annoyingly eager to learn on my first day of school. I got dressed in my “cute mom outfit” (obviously) and drove my pre-owned minivan to campus. I get into the classroom and right away notice it’s full of very fit 22-year-old students. It’s a hundred degrees in the classroom. I sit in the back so I can be discreet— why is it so hot in here?! And I realize I can’t see the board. Is the font unusually small? I’m squinting and fanning myself with a pocket folder because it’s so hot. My inner dialogue starts up: “Too old. Too fat. Too stupid.” Ouch. But I have tenacity! So I ignore the fact that I can’t see the board and I’m having hot flashes and I can only understand about 80% of the lecture. The professor makes some joke about “Fonzie” and the class doesn’t respond. He rolls his eyes and says, “You guys don’t even know who Fonzie is, you’re too young for that.” And then, he points his finger at me and says, “Except maybe you!” Ouch again.

But like I said, I have tenacity. So even though I died of humiliation on the first day of school, I will be back for the next class. I just need to remember to bring my dentures and cane. Oh, and my new prescription for glasses.