Friday and Saturday were just emotionally bad days. I was crabby and feeling sorry for my fat self and being a spoiled sport in general. Today has been a really good day, which I desperately needed, and it has gone a long way towards lifting my spirits. Yesterday, I went on and on about how I want to be able to *do* things with my kids. Well, I stopped throwing myself a pity-party long enough to do exactly that this afternoon.
My neighbor friend asked if the kids and I wanted to join her and her son at a local roller skating rink for open skate today after church. I really did want to go since it sounded like so much fun but, of course, I grappled with all of the inner turmoil of "can I *do* this?". I hadn't attempted to skate in probably 20+ years and I wasn't very good at staying up then either. I sucked it up and agreed to go. I'm tired of passing up opportunities because I'm afraid. If I assume I can't, I will never know that I can. That's what I tell my kids anyway. What's the worst that could happen... I fall? Well, maybe all of this extra padding will be good for something.
So the older two kids and I went skating, and I did fall. Pretty hard actually, but my daughter was the only witness so it wasn't too terribly embarrassing. And you know what? My daughter found the courage to let go and skate on her own after that. I'd like to think that seeing me fall and get back up inspired her. My neighbor, on the other hand, decided that my daughter let go because she was afraid that I would take her down with me the next time. I have such wonderfully supportive friends. ;)
The point, regardless of the true motivation behind my daughter's success, is that we all got out there and gave it our best. I was up and skating for close to two hours. I was sweaty and more than a little sore when all was said and done. Not sore from wiping out, sore from the exertion. I didn't lose my breath at all, was never in need of my inhaler. When I got home, I decided to look online to see how many calories roller skating actually burns. I was shocked. Given my size and age, I burned roughly 1000 calories! I found a bunch of sites that all confirmed that I burned at least 1000 calories.
I'm so glad that my neighbor friend and I talked about trying to make this a regular outing for all of us. I just wanted to keep going because I had so much fun and the kids had a blast. Now I have the added incentive of knowing that I have actually found a fun workout. I didn't know there was such a thing! I am super pumped and I've regained my focus and motivation. Husband was even jealous of my workout (MY WORKOUT!!!) and said that he needs to start skating, too. This could become a real obsession. Maybe I can celebrate my first weight-loss goal with a pair of my very own roller skates... sparkly wheels and all!
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