Don't You Know Who I Am?

We watched the movie Fame this weekend. Not the classic one, but the remake. R's daughter loves musicals, so I thought she would enjoy it, and I'd kind of been wanting to see it. It was rated PG, so I figured it would be okay for a seven-year-old, and it basically was. There were one or two instances of cussing, and one scene in particular that she probably shouldn't have seen, but I truly don't think she even understood it.

It wasn't all that fabulous. I don't remember seeing the original (but now it's in my Netflix queue) so maybe it was just a sucky remake. Or maybe it wasn't that great a movie to begin with. But it was okay.

Anyhow, my point here is that as I was watching, I was mesmerized by the dancing. Not just because I love dancing. But, it hit me while watching that I would LOVE to have that much control over my body. Because basically I feel like I have very little control over my body.

Once upon a time I was an active kid who ran and jumped and flipped and turned upside down and played on monkey bars and took gymnastics classes. I could almost do the splits. I could water ski. I loved to dance. I had some measure of control over my body, and I could basically make it do whatever I wanted it to do.

Now it has a mind of it's own, and we don't always agree on what it should do. It doesn't move as easily as it once did. It isn't as flexible as I'd like it to be. It's much more tired than I think it should be. Yet it doesn't sleep when I want it to. It's pretty hard to get along with. If it were my teenager, it would be grounded a lot.

I'm not into the Olympics much, or sports in general. But I do watch certain athletes in awe. I was watching a baton twirler practice in the gym today while I walked, and I was amazed that she could control her body in such a way as to make that little stick do exactly what she wanted. I'm amazed when I see gymnasts fling themselves into the air, around a bar, or across a beam. I can't imagine this body ever being at my beck and call enough for me to convince it to do any of that.

But, I realized while walking and pondering all this that truthfully, what I put in my mouth and what activities I make my body do are completely in my control. I feel quite often like I can't control my food intake, or like I can't make myself go to the gym. But the truth is, I can.

And maybe from now on I will. At least a little bit more often.

Most Awesome Song I Heard While Working Out: "Fame" by Irene Cara (not the remake, the REAL one) I have always loved this song. I kind of think of it as one of my many "theme songs." You know, like how Ally McBeal's therapist made her have a theme song? And she chose "Ooh Child"? "You ain't seen the best of me yet! Give me time, I'll make you forget the rest."