It is perhaps a dozen or so years since then but I cherish that day. I am the biggest kid I KNOW! I try never to let a physical challenge pass but I do it with discretion these days. I have always felt like I was in good shape and I hate to admit I have never paid much attention to my physical condition. Daily activity and riding bicycles, skiing, skating and all have kept me in relatively good shape. Now that I have embarked on this challenge I have decided to take my conditioning a step further. I have quit smoking totally, I am eating better and am working on breathing exercises to help offset the torture I have put my lungs through. And I bought a stability ball!
WHO NAMED THIS THING?! At this moment a big red ball lurks in the corner of my room where it has made its home. I looks at me each time I walk by. It waits for another chance to humiliate me, to push me over the edge, to remind me I am no longer that big kid. I have conquered smoking and beaten blood cancer only to find myself held hostage by a big red ball!
Now this is not your typical red rubber ball.. its not the ball of whom the Cyrkle sang in 1964.. it is not a ball you would give a 3 yr old at the beach. No this is a ball that is determined to bring me to my knees figuratively and literally! It is obviously a device crafted by the Marquis de Sade's own personal trainer. Rumors abound that the President has banned its use at Guantanamo!
I tried to use it for core strengthening. "They are Great!" I was told by one 'friend', "You will get so much from it Dad, and with a LOT less soreness" said my former gymnast son, "Go for it!". Lies and propaganda! I tried to sit on it, to bounce on it gently, to become one with this unstable squishy torture device. It tossed me from side to side, it rolled me across the floor and during one "Easy stretch" it unceremoniously rolled me over tossed me up in the air and left me flat on my face in a corner after I completed a back layout with 1/2 twist onto the hardwood floor of my apartment, as it, my oppressor, rolled gleefully into the corner, where it now sits awaiting the opportunity to once again remind me of my impending dotage.
Who ever named these things stability balls must have been the same person who came up with Jumbo Shrimp, Military Intelligence and Educational Television. There's nothing stable about it!
On a saner note, I met the rest of my team this wekeend and we went for our first ride. I am really looking forward to spending more time with them. It was 28 degrees (Fahrenheit - don't get me started on Metric) and here were a dozen people as determined as I am to both conquer blood cancers and the mountains of Nevada and California. We rode together, finding our riding partners and making friends. I am very excited to be part of this wonderful group and look forward to spending the next 4 months and hopefully well beyond riding and becoming friends with these great people!
My fundraising continues to amaze and astonish me, my teammates and even the LLS, and I once again find it hard to express my gratitude for your support! I learned this past weekend that YOU are the 9th most generous group of sponsors in the entire nation! Only a corporate team of 8 has raised more funds than I have. Thank you and congratulations!
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