AirBorn

It's harder than it looks.
I'll wake up with a body so sore, I won't know what hit me.

I did this today: aerial tissu/silk. It was an experience I purchased off LivingSocial about a year ago.
Back when I thought I might actually want to run away and join the circus.
I had been threatening to do that off and on over the years, and having just resigned from my job,
I thought I might finally give myself the option.
So today, I cashed in on that voucher - a year later - and got up on the tissu.

Looks a lot easier than it is.
At one point, I admitted the obvious: "I'm not your typical candidate for this kind of work."
It was difficult for me to hoist my robust 170-pound body up using only my arms and one foot wrapped up in fabric.
And, I admit: after the first try, I thought I might have to just stand there and watch the other student's graceful and strength-filled moves for the next hour and a half of the class.
I thought of learning how to knit last month, and how badly I wanted to quit before I'd even begun,
and now "I'm knitting."
So, why not this? Why should I let this defeat me?

So what if I could never do a somersault, or touch my toes without bending my knees, or do a chin-up, or any of those other traumatizing events from junior high P.E.?  This was to be different.

This was an experience. And I picked it for myself. And I was going to stick with it 'til the end of class to see what I was made of.

I did 4 poses today: cocoon, sailboat, candy cane, and something with a name I don't remember. The hardest part was learning to climb, and then wrapping my foot. But with a little help from the instructor, and encouragement from the other (and very proficient) student, I succeeded.

Did I feel stupid? Yes. Did I want to cry? At times. But did I quit? No.

And so, today, I consider myself "air born."

I don't know if I'll get up on that tissu again. Tomorrow, when I can't lift my body out of bed, I'll probably tell you that I'll never get UP again, period.  Tonight, though, I check an item off my bucket list.

Someone asked me if I could spin around and sing up there like Pink. Um, not quite. I could hardly speak, let alone breathe. But I'm willing to work at it.

Check out http://theaerialclassroom.com.