Today I had to teach my class gym. Our gym teacher is out for the week, and I was not looking forward to today. I usually arrange for the kiddos to play games they know, like tag, and switch up the parameters so that they keep engaged.
Today, I wanted to teach them a new game. Usually, I would explain the game demo for possibly a minute then stand back to let my students play on their own.
Not today! I explained the game started as “it” and then kept playing, and playing, running, cheering, bending over to pick up the ball. We played for over 10 minutes! I know that 10 minutes isn’t a lot, but it is a hell of a lot more than I would normally do. Even at the end when it was time to clean up, I was a bit disappointed, I wanted to play more but was on supervision. While walking around outside, I had time to reflect. I hadn’t realized I was playing and having fun with the kids in the moment; I was living. I wasn’t worried about falling, having my stomach slap around, or telling myself that I can’t. I wasn’t afraid of being active around my students, and I think they enjoyed the time in the gym. I still have a long way to go ahead of me, but I feel so proud of myself for today.
I just had another thought, being down about 90 lbs is about the same weight as two of my students. I can’t imagine carrying them around with me all day!