Yesterday I found myself thinking and saying, “I’m not allowed to fear it. I can like it or not like it, but I may not fear it any longer.”  And thus, after numerous invitations and endless encouragement from Kristen and Sharon, I attended my first ever Zumba class last night.

Before we go any further, let’s get it clear that my one and only reason for not trying Zumba before has been the whole me + dancing/wiggling bit.  ‘Nuff said.  But last night's Zumba came wrapped up in the form of a healthy fundraiser for a local school; a little person of my household has been begging to exercise with me; and the class was just a hop, skip, and jump from home.  What choice did I have?

Had it not been for the presence of some dear happy souls – people who know me and would know if I quit – my Belly Butterflies might have gotten the best of me.  But in the end, I wasn’t going to let my daughter down and I reminded myself “I can like it or not like it, but I may not fear it,” so I stayed.

Long story short: I liked it.  I liked it very much.

With a background in step class, I found it pretty easy to follow the instructor’s lead, and I liked that she didn’t try to speak over the music, but taught by wordless demonstration.  In the presence of girls and ladies of all ages and abilities, I was able to remind myself, ala the Desiderata, “If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.”  I was able to minimize the negative mental self talk (though, believe you me, it put up a good fight), have fun, and get in a challenging work out.  My daughter liked it a whole bunch, too, so we signed up to keep on going.  J

Thank you, Kristen and Sharon, for staying on me about Zumba.  Thank you, Our Lady of the Lake PTO, for welcoming my daughter and me.  I am actually looking forward to these next few weeks of Zumba while I psych myself up for a bigger, and therefore a little scarier, Zumba fundraiser in April, in support of the Lake County Humane Society.

My motto used to be “Anything for a t-shirt.”  Now, if this Face My Fears trend continues, my motto might become “Any exercise for a good cause.”