Go Ahead, Make My Day

I've doled out quite a bit of advice lately. But today, I decided to follow my own.

You see, I've recently made the decision to start going to another gym. I've previously been sweating it out at our local recreation center. But couldn't pass up a 2-year membership offered through Costco to another gym -- one I'm certainly not going to plug here. I'm having a bit of buyer's remorse.

In part because many of my friends are at the recreation center. But mostly because the fake boobs/beefhead/belly button ring/spray tan factor at the new gym. It's a bit of a cougar den over there and I don't really fit in. I haven't met anyone and I feel really alone when I go there. (Doesn't do much to motivate me into working out.)

This new gym has a large playroom for the kids with amenities like a jungle gym, Wii, ball pit, and lots and lots of toys. For the first week the boys loved it. But yesterday when I picked them up Cooper was whimpering and complaining that no one wanted to be his friend. I didn't really sympathize. I advised him to do the following (I think I repeated word for word something my mother used to say to me every time I changed schools):

Just introduce yourself. Say, "Hi my name is Cooper. What's your name? Can we be friends?"

He looked at me, rolled his eyes, then dropped his chin to his chest and scuffed along kicking imaginary cans in front of him.

Today we rushed to the gym. I dropped the kids in the playroom, reminding Cooper that he just needed to introduce himself and everyone would want to be his friend, and scurried down to the classroom where I volunteered to kick my own butt. (Whose idea was it to have resolutions anyway?)

About halfway through class I was feeling pretty silly. I didn't recognize a soul in the room and was feeling pretty lonely, like no one wanted to be my friend. I guess you know what's coming. Well, I introduced myself to three people and one was really nice. It worked! (Though that's a pretty crumby success rate.)

Here's the deal. Be friendly. Smile and smile back when people smile at you. While it's right for children to have a healthy respect for strangers (if not act downright impolite). But it doesn't make a lot of sense for adults. You might make my day.

PHOTO NOTE: I caught Mason in the kitchen with the rice krispies. I'm fairly certain he ate half a pan by himself. I ate the other half -- which is real reason I have to go to the gym.