Friday Five: Exercise

SOPHIA AT REVGALS IS BRINGING UP MY MOST UNFAVORITE TOPIC IN THE WORLD: EXERCISE. BUT I GUESS I WILL PLAY ANYWAY.

I just got back from an 8 mile bike ride down the beach boardwalk near our home, and was struck with the number of people out enjoying physical activity. Runners, other cyclists, surfers, swimmers, dogwalkers, little kids on scooters....

It's easy to lose track of my physical self-care in the midst of flurried preparation for a final on-campus interview Monday for a college teaching position in the Midwest (prayers welcome!) and the family move that would accompany it. But each day that I do make time to walk or ride my bike it is such a stress reliever that it is well worth the time invested!

So how about you and your beautiful temple of the Holy Spirit?

1. What was your favorite sport or outdoor activity as a child?

I loved playing soft ball. I wasn’t especially good at it but I loved to play. We had separated play grounds in those days—the boys and girls couldn’t play together and the ball diamond was on the boy’s playground. But on the block we had a good bunch who would play scrub in the street until they rerouted the busy street down ours. I loved to swim but there weren’t pools near us. As a family we went to Burger’s Lake several times a summer.

2. P.E. class--heaven or the other place?

HEAVEN up through 8th grade. I had a crush on my 7th grade PE teacher. But once I was in band, I had to choose between music and exercise in high school. Music was my life then.

3. What is your favorite form of exercise now?

I am a true couch potato. I have definite knee problems and have had since I was in high school. It curtails walking, running, playing sports. I have tried all kinds of exercise: spinning, walking, swimming, weight or strength training, cardio work outs, etc. None of them make me feel any better or do much for my spiritual well-being. And any lower body work will cause my knees to swell to the point that they will not bear my weight. Grrr. I have been to orthopedic folk galore. The problem is not necessarily the joints, they say. We have tried therapy for long enough even the therapists are bored, but to no avail. I end up with having to have shots of cortisone and I think that defeats the effort. The steroid isn’t good for my heart either.

4. Do you like to work out solo or with a partner?

So I couch potato alone!

5. Inside or outside?

I will sit and do online exercises of the mind and the spirit inside or outside. My summer haunt is the screen porch which is where both J and I hang out. J is there all winter too since she does not smoke in the house, but when I sit on the porch it is always up wind.

Bonus: Post a poem, scripture passage, quotation, song, etc. regarding the body or exercise