Heavy Things
When I lift, I usually retreat into my own head, which is a very useful sort of meditation that allows the superfluous (exercise) to mingle with the consequential. I was jarred from this state on two separate occasions during my recent lifting session. Dropping down from the bars and contemplating how good laying down on the floor might feel, I sensed someone approaching, trying to get my attention. A well built fellow, he quickly came quite close, invading my large American space bubble, and causing me to simultaneously wonder about his sexuality or country of origin. This immediately put me on the defensive. He was polite, though, simply commenting, “… that’s the toughest exercise I have ever seen anyone do here in the past two years.” My pre-packaged conversational responses were not exactly prepared to deal with a statement of this nature; all I managed was a jesting “I don’t think I can recommend it” to his back. Funny. Later on, while attempting to put the incline bar back on the rack it had come from, I missed the right side. Dropping your hand from a bar expecting nothing to come with it, but finding hundreds of pounds tagging along for the trip is a strange experience. The original shock missed my head, and I considered what to do. Gravity decided for me, and I watched the weights slide casually off the right side of the bar, rotating slightly through space and then bouncing off the urethane covered floor. BOOM. Clunk. Clink. Clink. Funny.
Katy is doing better; it looks as if she will not need skin grafts. THIS is the good news we have been waiting for, and to anyone who tossed some kinds words her way, included her in their prayers, or performed any other acts of support, should chalk up some points on the “good karma” scale. Bad events always manage to bring the best out of people, in some way. Some kind of optimism in that last sentence, eh?
This weekend I visited Mykala’s family with her roommate (well, suitemate) Jordan (not the seminarian, but she did get all his mail). Soundbite descriptions: gorgeous weather, amazing food, great company, nerves, Lion King, walk, grandma, too short.