Hi ladies, top of the morning to you all. I'm at the very top of this fine spring morning, hours before the crack of dawn. It's 2:15 a.m. CST and yep, I'm still sleeping at odd hours. In my early 20's I used to make the trip home about twice a year in those years I was in grad school. Got rid of the jet lag in two days. That was then, this is now. Age has taken its toll.
THANK YOU for all your warm welcomes last Tuesday. Yes, in many ways it was an emotional trip as I got reaquainted with family members I haven't seen in years and as I submerged myself into a culture I spent two decades trying desperately to get out of. It was also bad seeing my son go through culture shock and homesickness. Sometimes I wish I waited two more years to make this trip with him. Too late now. He told me though that he wants to go back one day. He really enjoyed meeting his cousins, uncles and aunts, and the beaches blew him away.
I'm still not in the mood to get back to my workouts, but I do want to know what plans you all have for this thread next month. Goals? Rotations? I weighed myself when I got back and was surprised to see I'm still the same weight despite the mountains of crap I consumed during the break, but my younger brother told me at the end of my stay that I am no longer as lean as when I first arrived. This means I lost some muscle and gained some fat, so I definitely want to take care of this starting next month.
There was that thread before I left. Sabine, I think you started it. It was about distorted body image, and I didn't realize how awfully distorted mine was until I went home and my brothers oohed and aahed over my arms and back, while my female cousins asked me -- very nicely -- not to sit or stand next to them as I was, according to them, "very buff" and made them look fat even though they didn't have any weight problems. One of my cousins told me, "You look... Single." And many other relatives made comments about how amazing it was that I was still "able to maintain my body" despite my age and my having gone through childbirth. Now, that one I found almost offensive as it carries this assumption that mature women who've had kids are no longer capable of staying slender. Also, something so beautiful as childbearing becomes tarnished by the idea that it can mar a woman. Not only that, thinness in this case trumps FITNESS, which is why I'm here in the first place.
So anyway, I gotta stop blabbing and try to get some zzzzz's. I hope to get rid of this jet lag over the weekend.
Have a great workout, everyone.:7
Pinky
THANK YOU for all your warm welcomes last Tuesday. Yes, in many ways it was an emotional trip as I got reaquainted with family members I haven't seen in years and as I submerged myself into a culture I spent two decades trying desperately to get out of. It was also bad seeing my son go through culture shock and homesickness. Sometimes I wish I waited two more years to make this trip with him. Too late now.
He told me though that he wants to go back one day. He really enjoyed meeting his cousins, uncles and aunts, and the beaches blew him away.I'm still not in the mood to get back to my workouts, but I do want to know what plans you all have for this thread next month. Goals? Rotations? I weighed myself when I got back and was surprised to see I'm still the same weight despite the mountains of crap I consumed during the break, but my younger brother told me at the end of my stay that I am no longer as lean as when I first arrived. This means I lost some muscle and gained some fat, so I definitely want to take care of this starting next month.
There was that thread before I left. Sabine, I think you started it. It was about distorted body image, and I didn't realize how awfully distorted mine was until I went home and my brothers oohed and aahed over my arms and back, while my female cousins asked me -- very nicely -- not to sit or stand next to them as I was, according to them, "very buff" and made them look fat even though they didn't have any weight problems. One of my cousins told me, "You look... Single." And many other relatives made comments about how amazing it was that I was still "able to maintain my body" despite my age and my having gone through childbirth. Now, that one I found almost offensive as it carries this assumption that mature women who've had kids are no longer capable of staying slender. Also, something so beautiful as childbearing becomes tarnished by the idea that it can mar a woman. Not only that, thinness in this case trumps FITNESS, which is why I'm here in the first place.
So anyway, I gotta stop blabbing and try to get some zzzzz's. I hope to get rid of this jet lag over the weekend.
Have a great workout, everyone.:7
Pinky
