Needing more energy

Where is Richard Simmons, the ET lead-in questions?  Indeed where is my mentor, my encourager, my only hope for a size 6?  The human bundle of muscles, endless energy and perpetual smile was depressed, they reported because he suffered a knee injury and could not exercise!  The bigger surprise is that someone becomes depressed over such a loss!  Show your face Richard, the cellulite is echoing in the night!  When "S" turned 4, it became evident that our energy levels were not balanced.  Actually the inverse was true.  As her energy increased, mine slowly diminished.  We were like the tortoise and the bunny, and I was never going to catch up.  I was starting to calculate the difference and "S" was going to be in an entirely new millennium before I ever got off the ground.  Drastic measures were needed!  The thought of going back to caffeine after going cold turkey twenty years ago and suffering a monstrous headache for a month seemed like a plausible solution, but medical problems were imminent.  My son, the personal trainer had another idea.  “You need to exercise, mom”, he exclaimed!  Now there was a concept I rarely pondered, like the first day of every New Year or the beginning of each summer, but only a week or so.  Or it could be that my dislike of exercise was a silent rebellion against the continual barrage of pressure from my immediate family to do so.  My son is a professional in the field, my daughter, the conqueror of all intensity programs, and my husband, a runner since 1978!  I was maintaining my own individuality apart from the blending of the family by claiming that housework, pulling weeds and chasing children was as good as any other sweat and grunt program.  Under more pressure and the "Catch me if you can" howl of a toddler, I gave in and decided to wipe the grime off a seventies tape where Richard promised you the "prom that you always dreamed of.”  Really, who dreams of a prom where you go dateless, dress in purple sweats and a matching striped headband and do a line dance of kicks, bends and crunches?  However within weeks of joining his crew, I became closely bonded to his band of merry men and women on the tape who range from size 20 to 8 in our mutual quest for tighter buttocks, shapely arms and the perfect tank top shoulders.  It was little surprise that my husband ordered the complete set of Simmons DVDs which progressed with a pint more sweat with each program.  For two years I remained loyal to the man in short shorts and a matching tank top until my son decided that I had mastered these movements and needed more of a challenge.  I now follow the lead of a girl that wears a size 0 and her band of twenty-somethings who eat only Kale, exercise for a living and have never given birth.  I usually follow the modified version of each exercise which is modeled by a normal size girl who smiles much more than the others and rarely uses the “heavy “  weights.  This DVD has been a challenge and I usually call out to Richard about half way through each routine.  The bottom line is this:  I HAVE MORE ENERGY, CAN BEND MORE, LIFT MORE, AND HAVE LOWERED MY CHOLESTEROL!  Yes, I am a convert and challenge anyone who reads this to take my family's advice and put aside 30 minutes a day to walk, or join the ranks of Richard Simmons’ followers.  Maybe you can even get him to come out of seclusion!