Shaking It Up At Zumba

“How was zumber today?”

"What?"

"Zumber!"

Oh – Zumba! You have to understand…Mr. Goo Shoes is from Brooklyn.  After 18 years of marriage, I still can’t understand half the things he says.  Like the time he told me he was going to pick up "a hoover", I assumed he meant a new vacuum cleaner.  He was talking about his friend, Ahuva.  As Junior Goo Shoes always says, “Dad, you’re SO Brooklyn!”

If there was one thing I was absolutely going to do on my “Things To Do After I Leave My Job” list, it was to exercise more. I just couldn’t seem to squeeze enough work-out time into my work week.  Just being at a job eight hours a day, and commuting back-and-forth to New York was enough of a workout for me, thank you very much.  I was very fortunate that my company had a beautiful, state-of-the-art gym right in the building. I didn’t use it, but, still, I felt healthier just knowing it was there, right next to the cafeteria, which I did use.  Actually, I used to work out in the gym for many years, but once my job responsibilities began to weigh more than I did, I had to give it up. That, and the fact that I wasn’t willing to undress in the locker-room with the 20-somethings who worked for me.

I'm happy to say that exercising is one thing I have been doing religiously since I'm home.  I have been working out on my elliptical, and doing free weights five days a week, but I wanted to try something a little different to shake up my routine.   I had no idea just how much shaking up I was in for, but quickly found out when the first class I took was a Belly Dancing/Zumba combination. Belly Dancing? WAY out of my comfort zone! The instructor handed out pretty scarves with the jingly things on them, to tie around our butts.  I couldn’t move my butt fast enough to hear any jingling. As she made the rounds to everyone, the teacher said to me, “Make sure you feel something jiggling."  “I feel lots of things jiggling, but I don’t think that’s what you mean.” At least I gave her a good laugh. OMG, I never felt so ridiculously uncoordinated in my life. I looked around the room in the mirror until I found someone that was worse than me.  And then I realized she was me.

As bad as I was, I forced myself to go back, but I’m steering clear of the Belly Dancing Zumba, and sticking to just plain vanilla Zumba classes. I’m still pretty terrible, but I do get a little more coordinated with each class, and it is FUN. 

As soon as I get this Zumber thing down, I’m gonna try that Hot Yogurt class I hear everyone talking about.