AEROBICS

I love what Elle says about exercise in the movie, Legally Blond (and love, love the movie): "I just don't think that Brooke could've done this. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't."

I totally believ-ed this, until I recently started doing aerobics with a group of girls in my church. I always thought aerobics was for wimps, truly. But, my body has been completely SHUT DOWN by these aerobic workouts. It takes me longer to recover than the time between each day that we workout.

I am totally uncoordinated and have in the past stuck with running, swimming, and biking (no coordination required). (And these types of exercise really do make me happy.) I wonder if you can tell a lot about someone's personality by the way they do aerobics. I wonder what I look like, and what people are guessing about my personality. I only look at the instructor, really hoping that no one is looking at me. Our instructor used to teach aerobics at a gym. She comes up with complex and extremely difficult routines for the warm up and then does excruciating cardio and strength workouts. I walk out afterwards with every tiny cell inside my body in complete shock. (This is even more humbling since she taught up until she delivered her first baby five weeks ago, and returned to teaching after only three weeks. Yep, she's the one standing up in black - she's a-ma-zing!)

Regardless, though, I love to get together with the girls. A few are experiencing life married to a resident physician like I am. All of us are moms. Some are grandmothers. We are from many different places, we look different, and have different interests. Some girls only come once or maybe twice. Some are there every time. Most of us only see each other when we get together to do aerobics. But we laugh and enjoy each other as we suffer through the pain of the workouts.

And the kids wreak havoc with the nursery toys and enjoy time with friends while their moms are totally distracted.

You always hear people talk about how competitive girls are with each other. That is interesting because the bonds we build with girlfriends are so powerful - and so essential - to survive.

Maybe if my body can eventually get used to this type of exercise, someday I will feel happy afterwards. Until then, I will continue going to aerobics each week for the chance to talk, laugh and suffer with the girls. And don't worry about my husband, he will be safe even if I don't have lots of endorphins because I am too sore and exhausted to harbor any ill feelings toward him - at all.