I do love the way things happen sometimes. Things have been pretty quiet on the gym front as it's half term and normal classes aren't running. I coached at the kid's gym camp day, and as expected, I couldn't last all day without having a jump on the trampoline and a few handstands on the airtrack! But nothing particular to write home (or here) about.
That evening in the bath I picked up a book that my husband bought me for Christmas and I hadn't got around to reading. "Is It Just Me?" by Miranda Hart. I feel the need to inform you all that I had not even leafed through through this book before then at all. As I was reading, I came across this:
"As a teenager, we suddenly had to get serious about hobbies (which, incidentally, doesn't include walking around shopping centres in feral packs, buying tops). So, no more gymnastics unless your forward roll is good enough to represent the school at the county championships.
And, by the way, at what age does it suddenly become impossible and terrifying to attempt a forward roll? I don't know about you, but I always used to be forward rolling. If I wanted to jump on a friend's bed, I might casually forward roll my way on. I was like a piece of teenage elastic, throwing myself everywhere. We all were, weren't we? Then, suddenly, in your later years, you might be faced with the prospect of doing a forward roll only to hear yourself saying: 'I can't do it. Seriously, oh my goodness, it's really scary, I can't, I'll break my neck, won't I?' Ditto handstands. There was a stage in my life when i was never not doing a handstand of a summer month. There I'd be, walking along; I'd see some open grass, up with a quick handstand, and keep walking. No one would think it odd. Now if I attempted a handstand, firstly everyone would assume I was deranged but secondly, I would assume my arms would break underneath me. Also, it looks an awfully long way down, that grass. What happens if I do a good one, a really marvellous perky handstand, but can't get down? Or what if I lose control and flip over? That would be truly terrifying."
Ha! Love it. My thoughts exactly. My mum said I never walked into a room, I always cartwheeled, Arab sprung (?!) or walkovered my way in lol. And exactly what I thought (and I think documented here) about handstands! I'd love to invite Miranda to one of our gym classes lol, she comes from the area too, so could be quite feasible! (Except I wouldn't have an idea of how to get in touch with her! (Anyone want to flood twitter with my blog address?? ;) )).
Anyway, it makes me think again about how cool the human body is. Like riding a bike or skipping I guess, even after years of not doing something (28 years of my not doing a handstand for example) the body remembers what to do!
