I'm having a bit of a challenge with whole prospect of active living...

When I look around the workplace at Cornell Cooperative Extension, there is one colleague who looks like she should be competing in the London Olympics. She runs full marathons. Another colleague persuaded most of our staff to take on a workplace wellness project and issued pedometers to log the amount of time everyone walked. I love that she is focused and organized, and regularly invites others to take walks for breaks and after work. Then there are the equine, rancher and canine folks here that do more chores in one morning before work than most of us do in a week.

My board collegues at Clearwater are a sporty bunch too. Some come in ruddy-faced from sailing.  Another looks like Bruce Springsteen, windblown and leather clad from a motorcycle commute up from New York City. Another is buff from training on a crew team. 

I do walk a little. I'm embarassed to say how much. I practice a bit of yoga, but it's sporadic.To my credit I manage to take a weekly aerobics class, don't watch television, and dash around my house and yard quite a bit.

But for full disclosure, I have not been out there. exercising regularly. And if  exercise is  not incorporated into my daily life, then it's not a lifestyle. It's been two  years since I learned how to

paddle surf--havn't done it since. It's been months since I biked to town one mile away. I live among the best trails, but hike only when I have company. Downhill skiing? Oy, I have to get in much better condition before I go anywhere near Belleayre Mountain.

Like millions of others, I sit in front of the computer much longer than I'd like. I commute much longer than I'd like. I sit at meetings longer than I'd  like. 

OK, enough. I set a goal, and at the risk of falling on my face, I'm sharing it here. I plan to live a physically active life again and do something, anything, walking, biking, everyday for at least 30 minutes. I just joined the gym and made a commitment to myself and asked my family for some support to take on this journey.

As for serendipity, one of my colleagues and I just came back from the Warwarsing Council of Agencies, and after discussing the sustainability of our Let's Move initiatives, one member made a suggestion to take time out of every monthly meeting to do something active. All agreed, and one membered volunteered her services...so included on the next agenda is 15 minutes of salsa dancing. A small change, but I was elated. It's many of these small changes over time that make a differerence.      

In a way, maybe it's alright. I'm an ordinary person juggling a lifestyle change, just one of a multitude of people trying to do the right thing.