Sliding

I have learned the joys and sorrows of sliding. Not metaphorically sliding, but the pure thrill of running down waxed wood hallways in stocking feet, then sliding. It is very good exercise, running from one end of the hall to the other, then laughing while watching others slide one their feet, knees, backsides, etc. It is also really fun. I always felt like yelling "shazam!" or some other "here I am!" phrase as I slid. We had compititions, where we measured how far we could slide from a certain point, as well as a trial to see how quickly we could stop. For those I was the score keeper because I had begun to see the downsides of such a sport.

The muscles used in sliding are not the muscles that get strengthened in every day life. However, they are the muscles that get used in climbing steps, coughing, sitting criss-cross, going on tip-toe, and bending. Since those do happen to be things I do every day, I was in great pain. Even today, three days later, I feel the results of sliding.

This is the first time I realized that I am not as young as I once was. All the high school girls I was with were sore the next day, but they stretched and went on with life. Every movement made me feel like an old lady. When I told my students that I felt old, one little girl said, "You're not old! My mom thinks she is old, but I tell her she's not old either." (Italics to convey the drawn out emphasis of Kindergarten talk.)

Maybe the pain is payment for being a bad example to students... We were running past a sign that said "Walking Zone"...