Zumba!

Tonight when the boys realized I was going to Zumba, they begged to be allowed to come! They've heard so much about it but have never seen it or me do it and they are so curious. I couldn't help but think of them as I was "Zumba-ing" tonight.

There are so many different people that go to my Zumba class and each one has something that makes them stand out. There is an older Indian man who has befriended me. He is an international folk dancer and oh, you should see his moves! He has feet that are quick and light. He moves to his own beat and it sends my boys and Ben into gales of laughter to watch me imitate him:)

There is Maria, a new Zumba fanatic. She joined in the last month and just fell in love with it! She is a round, shorter Hispanic lady that giggles like a schoolgirl throughout the class. I officially met her tonight and was amazed to find that she has 3 grandchildren of her own. She is very sweet and even Zumbas at home when she can't find a class to go to!

There is another lady, perhaps Puerto Rican, who comes occasionally, who moves her hips constantly. I have never before seen anyone able to shimmy and move with such grace and such freedom! My hips do not cooperate with me, much to my grief. This lady has some very salsa, Latin dancer type moves and it's fun to watch.

There are two middle aged ladies that come together each week. They can't do a ton of bending but they constantly crack each other up with their renditions of the moves. They are very fun.

But my favorite Zumba member is George. I have described him before. Skinny, tight biker shorts and tank top, florescent yellow shoes that hurt the eye and an intimidating enthusiasm for Zumba-ing! Wow. I often have to stuff down the laughter, not laughing at him in meanness, but because he is SUCH a character. He leaps about the room with such unbridled enthusiasm that people cannot dance too close to him for fear that he will knock them over! He leaps, he prances, he shakes, he sweats SO much by the end of class but you should see the smile on his face! He has such a good time. By far, the most memorable experience with him was when our Zumba instructor, Laima, darted over during a song to turn the music up and George was so caught up with following her moves that he went running after her!

It still makes me laugh every time I think about it!

I may not be very consistent with my exercising, even though I have fresh hope each week that it will be so, but I have truly enjoyed every moment of my Zumba class and hate to miss one. I recommend it to anyone and everyone if you want to do some exercising that is truly fun. There are people that come ranging from giggly teenagers to 70 something year old men!

I came home from class to find both my boys sprawled out on their beds in nothing but their undies, desperate to fall asleep but unable to because of the heat. The temperature was in the mid 80s today and as soon as it gets hot, our upstairs gets SO hot. It traps all the heat in and makes sleeping almost unbearable. Luckily, the boys get to have the ceiling fan now that we switched rooms. I turned that on and got Samuel settled on the floor under it and got Zakkai up to go to the bathroom. He is sometimes really out of it when I get him up. He looked at me and I thought he was awake because he was hot but as soon as I stood him up and tried to walk him out of the room, he grabbed onto the bunkbed and held on with all his might and said, "Nooo! Mommy, I need to fall asleep. I need to. I just want to fall asleep. Don't do this, Mommy!"

I could tell he wasn't quite with it, so I pried his fingers off and cajoled him into the bathroom. I wonder if he had just been falling asleep when I came in. Thankfully, both boys are out now and hopefully things will cool down tonight.

I'm off to sleep to refresh myself for another busy day tomorrow!