Riffing off a FB post

In which your intrepid heroine discovers another heretofore unsuspected muscle group and that that which physical therapists refer to as "your core" is largely composed of cotton candy, barbed wire, and leftover snippets of yarn.

I am there, in theory, to strengthen my back and my shoulder. Turns out that there's a lot of peripheral stuff which goes into it. Remember the juggling acts on the old "Ed Sullivan Show"(?), in which a guy would stand on a board balanced on a barrel, rocking sometimes frantically from side to side to keep his balance, and then complicated matters by juggling balls or pins, or by having another acrobat stand on top of his shoulders?

I got to try that today on a much smaller scale. Balance board (there's probably some nifty jargon for it, but I'm calling it the Wobbler from Hell) with the rolling part firmly attached to the board and parallel to my hips and/or shoulders. My goal? To stand on said board, find my balance, and rise up and down while keeping my core straight. I was allowed to touch the half-wall in front of me. I did fairly well.

Then she added the flaming chainsaws: I was to stand on the board, keeping it level, without using my hands to stabilize myself. This is when I discovered that my core is largely a Fig Newton of my imagination. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. The best I can say about that little experiment is that I did not fall off the board. My goal for Friday's session is to fail better.

My goal for this evening is minimal interaction with my beloved children, and an early bedtime. I managed another two rows on Avery's sweater throughout the day. Fourthborn is reading quietly behind me. Middlest is snoring softly in the middle bedroom. As soon as the batch of rice is done for Fourthborn's meals and snacks tomorrow, I am heading for my jammies and my bed.