So my mom suggested we join Jazzercise together. She'd done the program a few years earlier, and really loved it. I told her we could try it.
And after my first class, I was hooked. The music, the dancing, even the strength - it didn't FEEL like a workout. It just felt fun! So it became my workout five days a week. I'd go on my way home from work or on weekend mornings. It was the first program I'd ever stuck with for more than a few months, and I lost the extra weight I'd gained from college. Win-win.
About eight months after I'd started, the owner, a wonderful woman named Karen, approached me to ask if I'd ever thought about being an instructor. It was LITERALLY the day I'd gotten laid off from my first teaching job, and I thought - well if this isn't a sign, I don't know what is!
So in 2006, I added aerobics instructor to my repertoire. And I started teaching - first in one location, then two, then three. I'd teach three classes a week, then five for many, many years, and at times, I'd teach up to seven when we needed subs (one INSANE summer week, I taught nine because so many instructors were out of town. I don't recommend that!).
But, as much as it was about the classes and the workouts, it was never really about that at all. It was always about the people.
I know it's cliché to say that this group of people is the best you'll ever meet. But it's true. Jazzercise became a family for me. It wasn't just seeing people in class. It was the relationships you formed outside of them too. The women I taught at southside Jazzercise cheered me on through my first half marathon training - I carried a magic wand they gave me for the whole 13.1 miles. I got ready for my first date with my husband at Jazzercise of LaPorte with fellow instructors Janet and Becca keeping me calm the whole time. And the women at Jazzercise of Mishawaka - we've attended each other's weddings and celebrated each other's babies and so much more.
But now it's time to step away. And it's sad. But it's time. I haven't taught in a studio since March. Our newest family member is due in February. And we're about to have three amazing boys under six while I work from home doing something I LOVE. The time just isn't there. And it's time to prioritize other things.
So as hard as it is, I walk away knowing that those people I talked about - the best ones you'll ever meet - are still there. Just because my time on a stage is ending doesn't mean the friendships are. And that makes me feel infinitely better about taking steps forward.
