Ramblings of TJR -- Marketer -- Mom -- TV Addict.

Okay so the title is a bit of a misnomer - you never stand still when you have a toddler. And I am constantly running after him, but I'm struggling to find ways to stay fit and active myself. I've never considered myself an athlete. Even when I was competing in figure skating. I pretty much skated as soon as I could walk. I have pictures of me in skates on ice when I'm sure I couldn't even say skates yet. I probably spent at least 5-10 hours in a rink a week. I took ballet to help my skating. I never went to camp, I was always attending summer 'skating' school. Never felt I missed out as all our friends were also skaters (except maybe at University when I realized how many drinking songs are learnt at camp). I skated for about 18 years. But I never thought of myself as an athlete. My problem was what to replace that activity with once I quit. At University I never gave it a thought. It wasn't until I was in the work world that I realized I needed something. ...

My other passion in life is swing dancing. Nothing, absolutely nothing, beats stress like a good night out dancing. My prefered style is lindy hop - the original dance from Harlem in the 1930s named after Lindbergh and his 'hop' over the ocean. I can dance other styles but prefer lindy hop. I've even tried to figure out how I could live my life so I could just travel and dance. Never worked out a satisfactory plan that allowed for food... so I settled for a regular night out as often as I could. Since having a little guy the dancing is now a trickle - every couple of months. But it is still my passion and I live in envy of people who keep the first of their passion for their entire lives. Frankie Manning is one such man. Frankie is one of the original Savoy Ballroom lindy hop dancers. He is credited with the first ever 'aerial'. He lived his life for lindy hop. Check him out on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pMDf4ciCRs . When the interest in lindy hop died...