Zumba Class and a Kilt?

Ah, there you are! It's been a long, busy week or so here in The Hundred Acre Woods By The Inland Sea, and now that it is officially Spring, we have more snow and colder temps than ever! The Groundhog lied... damned rodentia... So how to stay warm and also work off some of that Winter Weight that we all seem to acquire? Plus you still want to do something to help Team Issy (see my last blog, and please keep Sharing it) don't you? We really need for this go viral, and yes you can help by merely spreading the good word! 

Well, my friend, have I got a deal for you! Ever heard of Zumba? No, it's not some type of broomstick flying races from Harry Potter (darn it!). It's a type of exercise class that mostly combines some fun dance music, and moves, to give you a really good Cardio workout. At least that's what I've been told. WunderWife has been going to a Zumba Class for some months now, and I can happily tell you that it has done her a lot of good! Of course, it's not easy to improve upon perfection, mind you, but her wonderful, sexy curves are becoming curvalicious again! As George Takei would say, "Oh myyyyyyyyy..."

So the gal that runs this Zumba Class, Denita Kells,  decided to do a class, and take donations to give Issy, for her stay at the treatment facility. The class was held at the Betsie Hosick Fitness Center, which also donated the use of a room. When our dear Denita announced she was doing this, then another great gal and very dear friend, Kate Withington-Edwards made it into a Facebook Event, and invited a lot of people, myself included. Well, of course I had a great laugh at that! Yeah... right... me in a Zumba class? Every time WunderWife Barb and I go to the Fitness Center, as she disappears into the classroom, all the ladies keep swooning and yelling for me to join them. Which always gives me a chuckle as I go on to the Circuit Machine room to do my Cardio workout. Honestly, I'm not really one for those types of classes, and can easily embarrass myself in front of a room full of women without being sweaty and stinky. Plus, after taking the Pilates for Dummies Class (really) I've decided that the classes seem to be designed for people who are already skinny? Great class, but I hafta work about three times as hard to get around my Bear Belly as do the "Skinny Innies" that normally reside there. 



Well, my dear friends, this time I was challenged. And not merely content to challenge me, Kate also challenged me to do the class in a kilt! Seems that she somehow knows that not only do I have both a formal kilt outfit (Prince Argyle style) but also a less formal, lightweight, Military style kilt. And yes, I do enjoy wearing them! Guys, I am here to tell ya, women positively go all agog at a gent in a kilt!! No, it is most certainly NOT wearing a skirt! And yes, the gals all love it!! I think the real reason English have Scots in the very front of the line, in military action, is that they know the guys wearing a kilt will get all the attention from the damsels when it's over? 

But back to our story... so yes, I was challenged alright. And just to add insult to injury, this particular class was held at about the same time that I generally wake up? Oh, just kill me now! I ruminate (don't ya just love that word?) for a few days, and then rationalize that if I show up, and put some dollars in the coffer, then I can make a quick exit from class, and nobody will be the wiser. Right? Wrong.

WunderWife and I arrive at the appointed time (and wearing a kilt in Winter is a very refreshing experience, I assure you), and the fun begins! About half of them couldn't possibly imagine what in the world am I doing?! The few gals that really do know me came running up and smothered me with hugs and kisses (see guys, the kilt works!)!! Suddenly my morning got a whole lot brighter!

To say that I stumbled my way thru my first ever Zumba Class would be, well, not even close to the mark. I wasn't nearly that competent! Seems that every time the class went right, I fell left. And then trying to see what to do in the mirror made me visually dyslexic as well! Plus then you're (apparently) supposed to do something with your arms besides windmilling into your neighbors as you fall down? Whoda thunk? But Denita set a good pace, and kept the moves fun, and did a great job of coaching us with hand signals, and whoops, and shouts and other various noisy accouterments. The gals all got to wear lacy belts with bells, but as I already had my Great Belt holding up my kilt, I thought better of it? Not that I generally mind pushing the envelope, but sometimes too much really is.

Let's just say that I had a blast! No, really! I got to get in an intense cardio workout, in a class of great gals (yes, I was the only rooster in the henhouse) and wear a kilt! Oh, and we raised $270!! About enough for a third of a day at her treatment facility. What could possibly go wrong? Well... let's just say that many of the gals kept trying to discover what a Scotsman wears under his kilt... and leave it at that! Silainte!