Hanukkah Gifts: It's the Thought That Counts...

When I’m not reading or writing, I try to choose active recreational activities to counteract the impact of the many hours of sitting the work I love requires. I take walks, jog, spin classes, ski, swim, yoga, tennis lessons. I like to mix it up so I don’t get bored. And it’s fun to try new things and challenge myself.

I suppose honing in on this quest for an active lifestyle in the midst of an obsession with a creative process that is sedentary in nature, is what drove my family to buy me a very thoughtful Hanukkah gift – Wii Fit, Personal Trainer. I received the gift on the fourth night of Hanukkah, opened the disk and popped it into the machine. The virtual trainer put me through a surprisingly tough workout filled with simulated track running, squats, lunges, and even some cardio-boxing.

While the trainer demonstrated the exercises with a cartoon-version of me on the screen, I followed along, taking note of the calories I’m incinerating as I move my body. What a nice way to get in some activity on a cold, wintry, or rainy day when I don’t want to get outside for a run.

My husband and sons found me a beautiful, thoughtful, gift. So, why do I have this nagging suspicion that it is also a hint, somehow? As I contemplate this gift, I can’t seem to shake the image of a beer-bellied, scruffy man getting a gut-buster as a gift, or a woman with saddlebags the size of Oklahoma receiving a thigh-master. I have always thought I had a healthy body image, but maybe I’m wrong. Is the Wii Fit Personal Trainer, my family’s way of telling me I need a gut-buster?

There, I did it. I admitted my silly insecurities. I’m not an ingrate. I love the gift and I’ll bust my gut using it!

Happy Hanukkah everyone! May this Festival of light bring joy and laughter to you!