Early memories.

On my way to work this morning I was listening to my Wylde Nept CD. They sing a song called The Mermaid, which my father used to sing to me on his sailboat when I was very young. I hadn't heard it for twenty years before my first Wylde Nept concert, and the song still powerfully evokes my father in my memory.

As I sang it this morning, my mind drifted to my earliest memory of either one of my parents. I was probably three years old. I was in the nursery at church, crying inconsolably. The nursery teachers must have tried to comfort me, but they don't even impinge on my memory. I just remember crying, and then suddenly having my father there in his bright red choir robe. He squatted down and hugged me, and I was encircled by his knees and his arms, his red robe billowing around both of us. He wasn't holding me tightly, but I was utterly engulfed by his embrace.

I love this memory. It's so secure. I hope my hypothetical future children's earliest memories of me feel this good.

Training my person, part III.

I had my second personal training session tonight. Kelly had put together an entirely different workout - I now have two complete routines that I can switch between at will. She said she didn't want me to get bored, although it's also the case that last week's workout had more leg work and this week's focuses more on my shoulders and back. (She's done a good job of remembering that I want to improve at hiking, kayaking, and canoeing. All the exercises she's having me do seem well-connected to my goals.)

We'll have one more session together next week to iron out the details. She gave me a general idea of how to proceed after that: work up to 2 sets of 20 reps, then increase the weights and drop back to 2 sets of 12. She's around the gym a lot, so she'll be able to answer any questions I have, but we probably won't have any more formal sessions after next week until I want to change what I'm doing.

This has so been worth the $115 and the scariness. I'm proud of myself, but I'm also impressed with Kelly. She seems impressed with herself too - she was really pleased that she'd mostly guessed right about what I would be able to do, and apparently she's been burbling to her exercise science-major friends about what a fun challenge it was to develop my program. So, yay.
( the details )