Life is punctuated by smells. It starts with baby powder. No one can not like the baby powder smell. It makes mothers think of their children as babies, it makes those with sweaty feet problems remember the comfort of those sprinkles in their shoes, and it makes grandmas smile with delight at that sweet, clean odor.
Another smell of life is dinner cooking when you get home and the knowledge someone loves you enough to have nourishment waiting. Or it might be the smell of newly cut grass — life is in order and there is a tidied back lawn. Perhaps you hung wet laundry on a line on a windy day and when it’s brought in, that fresh-air smell fills the folding room.
Well, I’ve enjoyed all these wonderful smells and experiences but I have now entered the time of my life where a fresh pot of coffee smell is wonderful, and Bengay is my friend, along with a nice hot bath — bubbles optional.
In my past life I was a dancer, teacher, snow skier, water skier and generally an athlete. In these past years my knees have decided to be done with these activities and I found other things that didn’t require standing or walking, much less running.
I’m writing more, Internet searching more, computer — game playing and reading — not much movement. So I gained weight and became stamina deprived. And so I decided to join the Silver Sneakers exercise class at the Kingston Fitness Center. Good move on my part.
Our leader is Julie Fox and she gets us marching by our chairs right off the bat, then we lunge forward and step-wide and toe tap and side-step. And that’s not all. We have heavy elastic bands to stretch over our shoulders and from side to side and up and over our heads and out in front. This finished we pick up our round rubber balls and do stretches and then we pick up our hand-held weights.
Sound frantic? Well it’s not. Julie takes us through a routine that is meant to stretch and move every part of our body and to strengthen those muscles we have neglected.
Do I come home sore? No (I save that for the next day.) Do I come home happy? Yes. When you get all those endorphins raised, you just feel good, mentally and physically. So if you find yourself a little sluggish lately (or a lot sluggish) you might consider taking a class like this and tell Julie I sent you.
And I always carry Bengay with me so ask me if you need a little squirt for those biceps.
Columnist Donna Lee Anderson can be reached at welltoldtales@aol.com.
