(Not) Walking Through the Storm

When You Walk Through a Storm (by Rogers & Hammerstein)

When you walk through a storm

Hold your head up high

And don't be afraid of the dark.

At the end of the storm

There's a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind

Walk on through the rain

Though your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on

Walk on

With hope in your hearts

And you'll never walk alone…
Unless you’re waiting for me, in which case, you’d better hope everyone else shows up, ‘cause I’m not coming!

Though the quickest, surest way to ratchet up one’s appearance involves a trip to Hot Heads, there are other things that can be done. One of them is to exercise. As I shared back in Oct http://hotheadsgroupie.blogspot.com/2009/10/gym-not-so-dandy.html , this is not a method I prefer. In fact, I do almost everything I can to avoid it. From time to time, I catch a little grief for this. Today, I don’t think I should.

As I believe I mentioned back in that October post, I am a member of an early morning walking group. Perhaps you’ve seen (or heard) us. We are two knockout blonds, a petite brunette who could easily pass as Valerie Bertinelli’s cousin, half of the canine population of Longwood, Fl and moi. We move with great speed down a three mile stretch of The Seminole Wekiva Trail every Monday, Wednesday and Friday starting at 6:30 am sharp. (Well, they all start at 6:30 am sharp and I can usually be seen sprinting after them sometime around 6:45 on the days I’m not subbing.)

To say the rest of my walking group is committed is like saying Heidi Montag kind of wants to be famous. These gals (and pups) are exercise warriors. They all convene in my friend, Cindy’s, garage at around 6:25 am - the girls looking like they’ve been up for hours with perfectly coiffed hair and in cute workout gear, the dogs bouncing all over the place with tails wagging eager to start the morning’s adventure.

Let me give you a better picture of the ladies I walk with…. take Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser

Add a dedicated mail carrier - (Everyone in the walking group, EXCEPT ME, has bought into that whole “through rain, sleet or snow” nonsense.)

Toss in a dose of Caesar Milan (the Dog Whisperer) – Pockets are required in the cute work out gear, so as to accommodate the requisite dog treats.

Add a little Ellen DeGeneres (the funny, sweet part...not the “I want to marry a girl part.”)
Clone this person. This is what I’m dealing with!

This morning, my alarm went off at 6:00 and I turned on the news. When I heard, Tony Mainolfi of WESH Channel 2, who bless his heart, seems to think he’s still living in New York, tell us we should all find a secure place on the first floor of our homes in order to ensure our safety, I pulled up the covers for another twenty minutes of sleep.

The girls knew not to expect me this morning, so I didn’t even get a call. Here’s my standard disclaimer: If any of the following terms: Doppler, wind velocity, rotating, column of air, vortex, supercell or flying trailer – are used in the morning newscast, I will not be in attendance on the walk. I make no apologies for that. I do want to get back in my skinny jeans, but not enough to risk my life.

Anyway, I have a few words to share with my fit and (should be) committed friends: Stay safe my pretties, you and your little dogs too!