Endorphins

So yeah, I'm a pretty busy person.  I pour dozens of candles and make hundreds of bottle cap magnets and drink charms.  I do the business paperwork.  And I also go to a day job every day.  Busy, yes, but very, very sedentary.

I've been hearing lately that exercise is good for you.  It makes your heart beat better, your lungs breathe better, and your muscles and bones get stronger.  There's also those things called endorphins that are created or released or something when you exercise, which apparently make you be in a really good mood. 

The physical stuff is all well and good, but I'm not a health nut nor am I vain.  I believe in aging naturally (check out my gray hair!) and haven't latched on to the exercise craze simply for my aging naturally theory.  Lame, yes, but it's a good excuse for me.  However, the mental part ~ now that's where exercise grabs my attention.

There comes a point where I get so bogged down mentally that I can't ignore the fact that I simply don't exercise.  Depression, anxiety, sleeplessness all can result from lack of exercise.  I have a propensity for all of those maladies, so I really have to make with the endorphins or else.

Charlotte and I get together once a week (when she's not on vacation, which is a lot) during the summer to play some tennis.  It's one of those lifelong sports and we were both mega tennis stars way back in high school.  We went for many years without playing tennis and then were inspired to take it up again.  We've been trying to keep up the summertime tradition for a few years now.  Here's what we look like:

This is Charlotte.  Look at those hamstrings stretch!

This is me, kind of tippy-toed

Okay, so we're not really Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, but I must say in our old age Charlotte is the much better tennis player.  We don't actually play games for competition ~ we just volley the ball back and forth, sometimes even letting it bounce three times before we hit it back over the net.  But guess what?  Even if we spend an entire hour chasing rogue balls we're getting more exercise than if we were sitting at home watching TV, and that's a good thing.

Even if your body is in the best shape ever and you have no reason to lower blood pressure or increase metabolism, your mental health depends on exercise.  Find those endorphins and make them your personal friend.  Cuz everyone wants to be happy, right?