Comfort Zone

Right before New Year's Day, I saw an announcement on my Facebook feed about a local polar bear swim.  The idea was to jump into the lake, literally, on New Year's Day.  No way am I doing that, I thought.  It looks dangerous- and really cold.  I think I even made a comment about needing to clean off my kitchen cabinets.  Anyway, later, I saw a picture of the people who did participate- one wise woman wore a life jacket- and it seemed like they had a good time.  I started having regrets about not trying it; it seems like something you should do at least once just to say that you did it.  As long as you take safety precautions, of course.  The Mom of No is an advocate for having fun recreational experiences in a safe manner.

So a few days later I saw a friend posting about something called "cardio drumming".  Now that the holidays are over, I've been feeling like I'm emerging from a massive food hangover.  I feel like a giant slug.   I haven't specifically made a goal to lose weight, but I could be in better shape. I sit all day at work;  I know that I need to get more exercise. I asked her about it.  You should try it, she said.  It's a lot of fun. 

Almost immediately, I started having doubts.  Apparently this activity involved beating on large inflated plastic balls with drumsticks.  At at least one point, people were dancing. Suppose one of these drumsticks went flying across the room and whacked me on the head- or somehow gouged out my eyeball?  I'm not exactly known for my dancing ability (or my sense of rhythm). Suppose the other class attendees started snickering at my lack of drumming and dancing talent? This activity seemed fraught with peril.  The treadmill is boring, but safe.  No flying drumsticks near a treadmill.

Then I thought about my regrets about not trying the polar bear swim.  It can't be that bad, I thought.  If it's a disaster, I will just skulk away in shame and not ever go back.  But it will probably be OK. I have a tendency to overthink things, and I recognized I was doing exactly that.  I asked the teenager if she wanted to try it.  You try it first and let me know what it's like, she said.  Was that a bad sign?  Never mind.  I got in the car and went to the drumming place.

It ended up being a lot of fun.  Drumming (it might have been more like fast but random beating) on a large inflated ball with wooden drumsticks is really stress-reducing.  For an hour, all I did was beat on this ball and move around while listening to music.  I probably looked somewhat silly, but everyone else seemed to be concentrating on their own drumming. No drumsticks went airborne.  It was definitely more enjoyable than walking on a treadmill for 45 minutes. The exercise felt good and made me feel less slug-like.  I'm even willing to do it again.

So I have been thinking, with the start of the new year, this might be a good time to resolve to try some new things.  I'm starting to make a list in my head.  Also, I'm going to get a life jacket to keep at the house.  If a polar bear swim comes along for 2017,  and the lake isn't covered in ice, I might just give it a try.