I got in my car as usual this evening for the drive home, chose the music for the ride, and on auto pilot headed in the right direction. I travel on I-94 back into the city and as anyone from Chicago knows, the traffic is always heavy. As I switched lanes for my exit, I realized that I really couldn’t remember the last 40 minutes. Auto pilot indeed. And worse was the fact that my teeth were clenched and my jaw and neck so tight I had to consciously try to relax.
As I pulled into my garage it dawned on me that it had been four days since I had been on my bike or at the gym. Last week wasn’t much better. I’m entrenched in a six-month project at work that is supposed to wrap up on January 1, and it would be an understatement to say that the last couple of days have not gone too smoothly. As a friend likes to say, “the walls are closing in.”
I greeted the dogs, let them out and fed them, and without hesitation, changed into some cycling shorts and pulled out the rollers. Most people know that I’m a true rock n’ roll girl, but I have my moments when I just want something completely different. Tonight it was my guilty pleasure: pop and R&B. Perfect teeth unclenching music.
The first few minutes on the bike were hard. I felt stiff and awkward and wanted to stop, but as I got into a rhythm and my breath evened out, I started to relax. My shoulders that were up around my ears started to come down to their normal position. I listened to the wheels spinning on the rollers; concentrated on that sound, almost hypnotic.
Great thing about the rollers: I have to concentrate solely on that one activity. No blackberry, no phone, no work, nothing except making sure I don’t break my neck. Completely disconnected from the rest of the world for those brief moments. Only thinking about my legs going around, my breath, the sweat rolling down my back.
As I was removing my shoes, a song came on that always makes me want to dance around my room. So dance I did.
And all the while the dogs are looking at me like “oh man, here she goes again.” But I know the truth. They like to watch me make a fool of myself, because they know that when I’m done dancing, I will lay down on the floor with them, and we will be happy. Happy just being there like that for a few minutes.
Ok, time to shower and get back to work. Enough of this exquisite foolishness…for now.