Out of my comfort zone

I do not do well with new places, people or situations.  I hate going anywhere for the first time.  I`m generally very shy and I certainly don`t like to be the center of attention.

So how did I end up in a gym, in track pants (something that only gets worn as far as the end of the driveway on garbage day, and never in public), with a group of people I`ve never met (all of whom were under 10 years old), while being watched by 20 grown up strangers who sat around the edge of the room chatting?

I blame the new phenomenon of Groupon, Team Buy, Wag Jag.....  They offer these amazing deals for the things that you didn`t even know you needed.

This week they had an AMAZING deal, SAVE $180.00, 90% OFF!  How could I turn it down?

$20.00 for 20 sessions of Tae Kwon Do, held in a church basement less then 2 blocks from my house.  That`s a dollar a lesson!  When would I ever get a better deal?

When I first saw the offer, I of course thought of Liam.  This would be something that he would love to do.  But I worried that he would not understand that this was not ``Ninja Lessons`` and that he would not have licence to go out and start bar fights with his new skills.  So I had the BRILLIANT idea of taking the lessons with him.  After all, I`m trying to get in shape and lose weight, so it would be a win-win.  And it was only 20 bucks! If we hated it, oh well, no big loss.

And that is how I ended up in a gym, doing push-ups, jumping jacks and laps with a bunch of kids.  The 20 minute warm up nearly killed me, with kids passing me and having much better form with their push ups (but I am proud to say I did do 2 full push-ups, not even on my knees!)  Then the actual Tae Kwon Do started.  And you know what?  I had fun.  Kicking, punching, blocking.  Who knew?  I forgot that I was a foot and a half taller then everyone and even blocked out the bored parents sitting around the room waiting for their kids to be done.  I was in the ZONE.  Liam had a great time too and is ready to go back tomorrow.  I might need a slightly longer recovery time.  His only disappointment is that we don`t get  uniforms till we sign up for regular classes.  Since he wants to go 3 times a week, we`ll work through our 20 sessions pretty quick and he can get his coveted white belt.  My only clothing concern is that I need to invest in a better bra!