"How Long Mom?"

The other day my 18 year old daughter asked me, "Not to be morbid Mom, but at almost forty-two how long can you teach Zumba?" She wasn't being cheeky or mocking me. It was a sincere question. One I have asked myself many times, especially on mornings that I roll out of bed stiff with the gait of a seasoned bathtub gin drinker.

Over the last couple of years I have pushed my body harder than I have since my teens. Maybe even more than when in my youth. For sure, a greater variety of challenging movements than when I was studying dance full time and trying to tombé pas de bourrée into a dance apprenticeship program with a professional dance company. I did a lot of stupid things and made a lot of poor choices about how to take care of my body, and mind for that matter. Ah youth...it is wasted on the young!

Well, I'm much smarter now, at least I would like to think so. My body moves smarter. It has to. Things can really get to hurt'in! I make better choices about how I fuel my vessel. I'm frequently inspired by what people my age and older are achieving everyday. Those inspiring examples are sure helpful on the days ruled by pain in my hip, knee or shoulder (sometimes all three at once). There's a bit of abuse in use, but you will surely lose it if you do not use it.

With all that said, I was checking in on my list of blogs and sites that I like to follow and found this post on stumptuous. I greatly enjoy Krista Scott-Dixon's work. She is bold, knowledgeable and clever. A little salty too. A girl after my own heart!

I can remember all too well being in my late thirties, up to my elbows in the tasks of motherhood and running a household, exhausted by four kiddos, thinking that when my kids got older and less in need of my constant assistance I would wake up one morning as just a husk of what I once was. Fun, sexy, vibrant, or at least to feel that way again.

Somehow I got my groove back. Actually I got some groove I didn't know I possessed (thank you Zumba!). I am a firm believer that a woman who feels sexy and strong on the inside is sexy and strong. Yeah, pushing past pain, taking extra steps to make good dietary and lifestyle choices for my family and myself make me a little bonkers at times. And yes, I miss my mark on things. But considering the alternative, I'll keep pushing! If anything, it gives me something to do until I reach that day that I can't Zumba.

How did I answer my daughter's question? Well, after a good laugh I told her of options that I have thought about for my future as well as stories of people I look up to and admire. She knows enough about Ballet training and instruction to know that I can bark instructions from a chair well into my eighties. Some days I already do. How long can I teach Zumba? "Hell... for as long as I can!"

Thanks for reading! Check out stumptuous. Enjoy the dance that is life!