I Loved My PE Class

In Jr. High PE we wore a cute little white gym shirt-button or snap up the front with cap sleeves and white short shorts. That was the uniform. I don't remember who my mom got my hand me down from-she just did and it was great.

We had a cross-country track at my Jr. High. It was so awesome-went up through the scrub oak on the hillside for half the run. Once in a while we got to run it. I was never as fast as the rabbit-Stephanie. She was slight framed and fast-really fast. But I'd keep up with her. I'd get some scrapes on my legs but I wasn't slowing down for nothing-if she could do it, so could I. I had to force myself to do it. I was a bigger body frame and muscle mass than Stephanie. On the flat field she was always way ahead of me-but once we got into the briar patch-I was nipping on her heels.

One time that we were running the cross country track we had an assembly after class. I ran so hard to catch the rabbit that day-I think we actually had to run around the baseball field twice before the briar patch and then once again after. I was pushing myself so hard. When the run was over I had a really hard time catching my breath. I showered, changed, went to the assembly and was still having a hard time breathing. I was coughing-couldn't get it under control.

Looking back it may have been because both of my parents were heavy smokers and I was around it a lot. It's also possible that I have smaller than I need for my body mass bronchia and so can't get the oxygen exchange I need to push myself at that pace. I know that when I was in my early 30's and jogged 5 miles/day, I couldn't quite push myself that hard.

Why do I mention this now? Because some of my kids have inherited and some of my grandkids may inherit the same condition and they need to know that they can probably go to a doctor and get an inhaler and probably could push themselves harder. I've always loved running. Dang my knees and feet! Would that I could run now. The feeling of freedom, generating your own wind, ahhhh... I'd love a good run.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

FAVORITE CHILDHOOD SONGS

My favorite childhood songs were the ones my mama taught me. 1) One day as I was seated on the subway, my high silk hat, my high silk hat; I laid it on the seat beside me, my high silk hat, my high silk hat; A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice); A big (sung in deep voice) fat lady came and sat upon it, my high silk hat, my high silk hat (sung in high pitch tiny voice); Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that? A big fat lady sat upon my hat! She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? She broke my hat, now what’s the joke? Christopher Columbus now what do you think of that? 2) The golden sun sinks in the west, Great Spirit calls all scouts to rest. We’ve had our work, We’ve had our play And we have lived, The true scout way. Upon my honor, I will try, To do my duty, To God on high, To help all other people out, And live the life of a real Girl Scout. 3) I had a little parasol long, long ago. A ...
Read more

The Measure of a Man

I loved this song. It was sung by Brett Raymond and it gave me a tremendous sense of where young men need to center themselves. The whole tape (yes, I have a cassette) is great, but this song speaks volumes. I played it often when my boys were teens-as much for me as for them. My youngest son even sang it at a program once-ah heaven-maybe some of it was getting where I really wanted it to go! The Measure of a Man comes from the album of the same name. It is by Clive Romney and friends. I have the hologram sticker that came with it. On the back of the jacket to the cassette case it says: "Though beautiful in any light, this holographic cover is most beautiful when viewed by the light of the sun. Life, likewise, is most beautiful when viewed by the light of the Son. Try it!" Is it the width of your shoulders how tall you stand Or how far you tip the scale The size of your biceps the strength of your hands Your prowess in games of skill Is it the style of your hair, the way that...
Read more

Riddley, Riddley Ree

Image
Riddley, Riddley Ree, I see something you don't see. And the color(s) of it is(are): (list goes here). My mom used to spend hours (it seemed like to me) with us kids playing this game. She'd pick an ornament on the tree and start the game. Sometimes the other kids would play for a while. I would keep playing and playing. I loved the game. When I became a mom I would play this same game with my kids. I found it fun to continue the tradition and I found it useful to keep the kids entertained. Of course with my kids we had to come up with rules. They pushed all kinds of boundaries. So there were rules like the lights don't count, the stand doesn't count, only the ornaments count, you can't switch which ornament you were thinking of just because someone guessed yours on the first try. The only rule my mom ever had to use with us was if no one guessed it after a reasonable time, then you got to pick another ornament and do it again. Mom seemed to have infinite patience w...
Read more