Killing rats

[deepdarkgreen]

Back-story:

 

A clever, shy bookworm falls in love with movement in childhood ballet classes. In her daily classes, she discovers persistence, humility, and strength while tackling turnout, pointe shoes, and a memorable performance as a rooster on stage in front of local schools. Forced to give up her love after a devastating foot injury, her father introduces her to cycling and running. She enjoys their dawn rides on winding country roads; passing herons fishing in creeks, and listening to the breeze rattle the corn stalks.  After graduation, she leaves her sleepy farm community for a job in the big city, where she meets a boy and is dazzled by the sights. The boy breaks her heart and she realizes the city can be a very lonely place. Bravely, she joins a running club and realizes that she needs both people and miles. She learns about weight training, yoga (so much like ballet), and carb loading. She tackles speed work. She runs her first half-marathon and then another. Her first marathon was an amazing experience, but she does not realize that it may be her last.

 

In rapid succession, she experiences injury, a terrorist attack on her city, the loss of loved ones and her perception of safety, an unplanned pregnancy, and marriage. While carrying her baby, she loses her job and soothes all her anxiety with ice cream, chocolate cake, and pizza. Her sweet baby is born and she loves him more than anything in the world, but he is colicky and requires all of her attention. She is exhausted and drinks coffee, eats chocolate, and continues to soothe her anxiety with food. She finds work, which pays the bills, but exhausts her further. Shortly after discovering she is carrying their second child, a daughter, she finds out that the father of her children has been soothing his anxiety in the arms of many women. Two weeks later, she loses her job again. Exhausted, anxious, jobless...she leaves her husband and embarks on the hard life of single motherhood.

 

Ten years later....she looks back on what she has managed to overcome. She looks with fondness on the faces of her bright and loving children and knows that all of the sacrifice has been worth it. She knows they’ll grow up well loved in the small community that she is raising them in, and the four hours daily travel into the city for work is exhausting, but necessary. She no longer struggles with the same anxiety, but physical and emotional stress still leave their marks on the body and mind that have borne so much. She has gotten them all to a good place and it is time to finally repair, nourish, and come to peace with her own body. After years of neglect, her body and her health are in dire need of gentle rehabilitation and love. But what is this? She has discovered the land of Nerd Fitness. Her face shines as she realizes that here may be the allies and support she needs for the journey that now lies before her. The people of Nerd Fitness welcome her with open arms....

 

Strengths:

• Inner strength forged in the fires of life experience
• Persistence and determination
• Knowledge of several methods of training, such as ballet, yoga, distance running, speed training, cycling, swimming, hiking, and strength training
• Great love of the outdoors and nature. She leads a troop of scouts on outdoor adventures regularly, teaching them to appreciate the deep, dark greenness of it all, how to hike, navigate, identify friends (wild raspberries) and enemies (poison ivy), and how to cook delicious nourishment over a fire
• Knowledge of nutrition and a love of cooking. She’s tried it all, from Slimfast (early misguided years) to eating clean. She now follows a whole foods plant-based diet and eats mostly vegan with limited fish, shellfish, and honey.
• Love and support of others, especially her children, her parents, and her best friend

Weaknesses:

• Massive time constraints
• Crushing amounts of physical and emotional stress
• Emotional eating to cope with stress
• Struggles with attention and organization which make planning and coordinating difficult

Tools:

• A yoga mat, strap, blankets, and blocks
• Dumbbells (3 to 15 lbs), medicine ball, and bands
• Foam roller
• A kitchen so finely equipped it would make a chef cry with happiness. The tools might not be the best brands, but all the essentials are there.

 

Special Skills:

• Knowledge of body alignment and form from years of ballet have stood her well in learning any other discipline
• Excellent research and knowledge acquisition skills
• Wicked sense of humor and ability to laugh at herself

 

**** I look forward to journeying with you all! Amy

[rita lin]

Wow. You've had such a...trying time. Yet you've come out stronger. While I can in no way truly relate to what you've gone through, I get stress. I get feeling so snowed under that you just want to sit somewhere alone and eat the days away. But you have all the tools you need you know what you have to do and hopefully everyone here can keep you motivated and on the up . Wipe the slate clean, and just, start again .

 

Good luck! I know you'll be amazing, no matter what

[deepdarkgreen]

Thank you, Rebecca! My story only overwhelms me when I look at it all laid out like that, which is why I tried to have some fun with it. Stress is indeed overwhelming and I need to learn to manage it more effectively. I am sure that you all are going to be very important to my success I look forward to being a part of the rebellion. Thanks for the encouragement.

[01001101]

Wow indeed! That was such a captivating introduction! However, it does sound as if you are, as Rebecca said, stronger for what you've been through. It seems like you know everything you need to do to attain your goals, all you need is a community of people who will help give you that little bit of extra motivation to get you through! Hopefully this will be the community for you and for the rest of us n00bs!

 

I wish you the best of luck with all of this! Although something tells me you'll be just fine!

 

Alorus (01001101)