Newton's Law

A body at rest stays at rest
A body in motion stays in motion
unless acted upon by an outside force.

This is Newton's First Law of Motion taught to every physics student.  I guess I need to find more force since my body is tending to stay at rest these days.  I miss moving.  I miss using my body.  I miss walking.  I miss running.  I miss skating fast.  I miss dancing.  I miss hiking.  OMG I miss just stretching. 

I never thought of myself as an athlete, specially since I was never particularly good at anything and I have been chubby since I hit puberty.  However, looking back on my life now that I'm spending most days in bed or on the couch, I realize that while I never quite qualified for the term athlete I was active.  I was always involved in movement and it started when I was very young.

Figure Skating:  as soon as I could stand up Mum and Dad strapped double runners on my feet and took me on the ice.  It was love at first sight.  I don't remember learning how to skate.  It is something that comes as natural as walking to me.  I've started formal lessons when I was 6 or 7 and continued until I was until 15 or 16.  Although I quit formal lessons I remained on the ice regularly until I went to college.  I even started formal lessons again as an adult.  I passed three tests and won two medals before becoming ill.

Ballet: started when I was 5 or 6 and continued until I was 10 or 11 after starting en pointe work.  I took a course in college for a semester which I enjoyed immensely and have taken the occasional class as an adult.  It is a sport that I would love to take up again.

Gymnastics: another sport that I loved as a kid but wasn't very good at.  I participated during middle school and even took group lessons at a gym but decided to pursue ice skating instead.

Aerobics: this wasn't around when I was a kid but I took it up after I left college.  I've taken classes on and off for years and got quite good at step aerobics.  My favorite class was taught by an exdancer who would string dance steps together one at a time until she had the entire class dancing a routine lasting several minutes.  We all had a blast.

Swimming:  my Dad taught me how to swim when I was about 8 and growing up on Cape Cod I spent every summer in or on the water.  When I went off to college I spent all four years in the pool swimming laps.  I have done lap swimming on and off as an adult but haven't gone since my car accidents a few years back screwed up my neck and shoulders making swimming painful.

Sailing: again I took lessons as a kid and spent my summers on or in the water.  I never pursued this as an adult although I liked it a lot.

Weight Lifting: I learned this a few years before my son was born so I've been doing this on and off for about 20 years now.  I even lifted through most of my pregnancy back when women weren't supposed to exercise while carrying.  I just didn't tell my doctor about it and took several precautions to prevent any injuries.

Other sports I've done over the years:
Canoeing
Kayaking
Horseback riding
Speedskating (love that one and would love to take formal lessons for long track)
Rollerblading
Hiking
Yoga (did restorative yoga for over three years and really enjoyed it)
Tap dancing
Jazz dance
Cross Country Skiing (did this all through college after I learned for a geology field trip)
Downhill skiing (didn't like this as much as xcountry)

Sports that I still want to try but haven't had the time:
Speedskating long track
Diving
Scuba diving
Backcountry survival
Orienteering
Equitreking
Synchronized Skating
High mountain hiking/camping

I miss my visceral life.  I no longer DO anything.  Not only have I lost sports but I've lost cooking, sewing and even cleaning my house.  Instead, I connect to the world through my computer keyboard.  I live a vicarious life now through books, movies, radio and the internet.  I want to be able to DO things again.  I want to touch, move, jump and feel.  I want to hear and yell and taste.  I want to be in motion and never stop.