Keep REAL ones around! #OnGod

It's taken me a week to write this blog because I was not sure of the angle I wanted to take. You know, if I wanted to place 3 of my fitness family members, Leroy, Wilchelle & Jamie, on the highest pedestal and sing all of their holy praises or simply tell the story. To be honest, there is no angle JUST the truth of it all. They may still end up on that pedestal ... actually my entire fitness family. Overstand, it's a true blessing when you are surrounded by people who truly care and have your BEST interest at heart. This describes the entire Justice League Of Fitness (JLOF) and I have one piece of advise to everyone reading this ... Keep REAL ones around. #OnGod

Last week we attended SCW Mania in Atlanta, please believe the JLOF showed up and showed out. Beginning early Friday a.m. through Sunday afternoon we were all scheduled for some of the most intense workout sessions and lectures. Day 1, for me, was ALL dancing with one nutritional session which was totally awesome. For those that know me, you know dancing is life so I was in heaven. My first class was Zumba with Erick Santana. When I tell you he gave us the business - HE GAVE US THE BUSINESS!! I have never been so enthused about Zumba in my life as I was after that session.

Afterwards, I had 2 sessions of Country Fusion line dancing, one was a workshop. This was right up my alley. Elizabeth Mooney is a great instructor. She made the session so much fun that I brought back 4 dances from her sessions to my own class. The ladies shown in the picture below are Wilchelle and Jamie (my trip roomie). I was mad as all hell with them on Day 2 but in the end I realized what they did was all done out of love.

(SIDEBAR) During this class I had one of the greatest moments of the entire weekend. One of the attendees asked me if I had a YouTube channel, when I responded yes she advised she recognized me. She told me she enjoys the way I teach. I helped several participants with the dances in class and was shown a lot of love over the entire weekend as a result. I love what I do and it shows when I dance. I thank Ms. Lorraine for letting me know that I need to continue doing what I do, no matter how discouraged I may get sometimes.

Day 2 started off really well but took a turn for the worse about 30 minutes in. Our first class was Reb3l, a high intensity dance style of fitness taught in a club like environment. The ambiance was just right for dance fitness. Oh, let me step back for a moment. I have neglected to mention a very important factor ... I have an AHLM (anterior horn of the lateral meniscus) moderate macerated tear in my left knee. I was unsure if I should have come but I knew I could modify my workouts to assure that I did not put too much stress on my knee. Well, I was doing well in Reb3l until they played one of my favorite songs. I had not heard Keri Hilson's 'Get Your Money Up' in years. The beat dropped and I LOST IT! All modifications went out the door and I went in. If you have bad knees then you overstand the pain of dancing on carpet without shoe socks/covers. Pivoting of any kind can cause a lot of pain. There was this move that required an in and out leg motion and it happened to occur on my favorite part of the song so y'all KNOW what that means. I WENT IN!! I was able to get a good one and a half in/out motion before I felt a pop. Tears begin to immediately fall from my face but I was sweating as well so I felt I could play it off. Wilchelle was in my face so fast, it was almost comical. She asked if I was crying. Initially I told her no but eventually I answered I was crying and sweating. I continued to dance against my fit fam's advice. Wilchelle eventually snitched on me to Jamie who told her to call Leroy, the head honcho. Long story short, I was pulled out of class and sat down for the remainder of day 2. I was NOT happy at all. I was so mad at the 3 of them for most of day 2 but as mad as I was, I began to realize this was for the best. Leroy proceeded to ice the knee and take care of it from a worst case scenario perspective. I was confined to my room. Let me show you what happened as a result of that POP in class.

What an entire mess this was! Could barely put weight on it and all I could think about was how mad I was that I was made to sit out. Want to know the icing on the cake? One of the classes I was supposed to take that day was right below the bathroom window of my room. I could see Jamie, Wilchelle and Sharon getting down in POUND class. I cried like a big ole baby. I wanted to dance and workout. It was so unfair to me is all I kept thinking THEN it hit me ... I could have made my condition worst. My fit fam did what they felt was necessary because I wouldn't. They made me sit down and be still when they knew I had no plan to stop. It is an awesome feeling to know others care about you more than you do yourself. I had planned to do all of my classes on that popped knee. I am glad their plans were different. I had to see the orthopedic specialist the day after we arrived home. I showed him the picture of my knee and he was blown away. He thought I had really done some damage to my knee due to the increased swelling. I gave him the long version of what happened and he told me the immediate care given after feeling the pop was possibly the saving grace for my knee. This was my visit ... over 40 cc's of fluid was drawn from my knee.

So to the 3 JLOF members who I was SO angry at ... THANK YOU! I love you all with my whole heart. It takes genuine care to "snitch" and make sure your fellow fit fam member is ok. To the rest of the fam (Sharon, Monica, T-Hi, Mr. Taylor, Roger and Walter) thank you also. You checked on me, fussed at me when I was out of line, and just made sure I was alright after you were made aware of my issue. I am proud to say I am a part of this organization.