Therein lies the truth

I have a brand new class of two year olds at my preschool.  Normally preschools are heavier on boy enrollment, because let's face it, boys take a lot more energy in the beginning.  Girls are usually easier until puberty hits, but moms and dads of toddler boys definitely look for the escape a preschool offers.  But for the first time in my career, I have a preschool class of almost all girls.  They're still a little unsocialized, but they are fun and exert their energy in a less frenetic way and they lull you into a false sense of security.  NEVER LET A TWO YEAR OLD LULL YOU!!

My tiniest little girl who took the longest to adjust to coming to preschool has finally come out of her shell.  She is adorable and sweet and just fills me with joy when she chooses to converse with me.  We talk about everything.  She tells me about her mommy, her sister, her dog.  Finding rocks and butterflies.  I love her....at least, I did.  Today unsuspecting me took a direct hit when she told the class, "Ms. Muddy is going to push out one BIG baby!"  Yes...those were her exact words.  I was kind of left stunned and wondering what she was talking about until she took her hand and patted my stomach and said, "SEE!"

I still love her, but she knocked the wind out of me.  Here I am working out 4-5 days a week and I still have such a big stomach that I look pregnant.  Why the hell am I working out so much if NOTHING EVER CHANGES?!  I was not feeling too good about myself when I went to the Y today, let me tell you. 

But a strange thing happened.  As I was working out a very large woman decided today would be the day she started working out.  I watched her finish her orientation with the trainer and after he left to go spot one of the bulky weight lifters that just happen to work out at the same time as me, she decided to do the circuit on her own.

She was doing pretty well until she came to the hip adductor/ abductor machine.  This machine has two settings and she just happened to mix them up.  She squeezed her legs into the machine only to discover that she was wrong and that she was also stuck.  She could not move her legs and she could not reach the machine to undo the hinge to allow her to escape.  I could see the tears of embarassment welling up in her eyes as some of the other people wondered helplessly what to do.

I went over to her and pulled the latch that would let her go.  She looked at me and said, "I knew this was a mistake."  As I wasn't feeling too good about myself at that moment, I had to think for a second what to say. 

"It's not a mistake.  The mistake would be if you chose to let this be the excuse that stops you from working out."  I purposely stood over her so she couldn't get up from the machine just yet and I showed her what she had done wrong.  Before I left her to decide whether she was going to quit or not, I took a deep breath and said, "Remember, you have to meet yourself where you are.  I hate working out, but it took me a long time to get this way and it is going to take a long time to fix it."

I went back to my workout and the woman went on to finish hers.  I have no idea if I guilted her into finishing that workout or if she is going to choose not to let one accident stop her.  I hope she returns.  All I know is that I needed to say those words.  Not to her...to me.