January 14, 2009
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Out of the mouths of babes………
……….or, how to demoralize an old woman in one statement.
Yesterday was Tuesday the day that I take myself down to St. Joseph’s Parish and teach my second grade class religion. I look forward to this class every week. I like being in the company of little kids. I have the feeling that they are what keep you young. Yesterday was no exception. I spent the better part of the morning preparing my lesson then off we went to teach my class. Now, before class I have to set up the room and spend some time monitoring the halls as the kids come in, have their snacks, and get to their own rooms before class starts. I was innocently standing in the hall greeting kids, joking with some of my former students and other kids who participate in the program when one of my former students walks up to me and says, “Boy, Mrs. K, either you are getting fat or you’re going to have a baby real soon!”
Since my surgery I have noticed that my clothes have been a little snug. I chalked that up to obvious swelling in my back. This will go away, I told myself. I don’t have any mirrors that show me full length so I couldn’t know that I looked that bad. But I did notice that I was having trouble flexing my abs. That seems to be the reason for this little imps comment.
The abdominal muscles are closely linked to the back muscles. Of course I’m going to look a little, I don’t know what, since I can’t keep my abs flexed. It’s painful to my back. I just wanted to cry when he said that. So, now begins a conscious program of isometrics to get those muscles back into shape. The reverse of what they went through when I had each one of my C-sections. No pain, no gain, Right?
Comments (13)
Oh, gosh! Not something you want to hear while recovering from surgery or anytime for that matter! Though I’m sure this little boy had no wrong intention of what he was saying, if he is a former student of yours, that makes him at least 8. In my book, that’s old enough for his parents to have taught him what not to say to people.
That kid should be sold into slavery.
Oh wow. I can’t imagine how that would make you feel. What are isometrics? I’ve heard the phrase but didn’t know they were an actually set of moves. ~ L
Usually the run-ins I’ve had with child-like honesty come around age 3-4… and they can be brutal, but usually they are so wide-eyed and innocent I can’t help laughing. I’m sure you’re right – abdominal strength is going to take a while to get back where you want it. At least you’ve got a *really, really* good excuse!!! Some of us cannot say as much…
@Bricker59 - I’m with you. Of course after being beaten and tarred and feathered.
@whteroses - I’m sure he didn’t mean it. They are very honest at that age. Yes he is 8 and should know better but there are a lot of things that we all knew better at that age and older and still we did them anyway. I truly forgive him and in retrospect think it is funny. But I was really unaware that I looked that way because I was chalking up the snugness of my clothing to the swelling in my back. Guess I wasn’t paying much attention to everything else.
@empress8411 - Isometrics are where you flex and hold muscles to strengthen them. I used them after all of my C-sections to help get the abs back into some semblance of shape. They also helped after I had my elbows repaired to get my biceps into shape before the surgeon let me start lifting weights again. After the isometrics get the ball rolling you can use the weight of other body parts to add resistance to work the muscles further. That is about all I will be allowed for awhile because of the possible danger to my back.
Well — he’s a guy so the clueless honesty is natural
now he needs to have tactfulness drilled into him.
And the isometrics will help and you’ll start to slim down as you gain mobility. Until then, borrow some of PObrien’s shirts and you’ll look tiny.
That reminds me of when I was pregnant with my first (a few years ago), there was this conversation between some friends children (aged 5 and 8) about me
Boy age 8 (whose mom had never been pregnant) — she’s fat
Girl age 5 (whose mom was pregnant with her second) — no she’s having a baby
They went back and forth (in front of me) while their moms were trying to quiet them and trying not to die of embarrassment…after a couple of go rounds they finally looked at me and said “who’s right?”. I confused them by saying “Both”.
@ugotafriend - Very good. Keep them guessing is always my motto. Borrowing some of the big guy’s shirts is good advice too. My husband, God bless his blind love, thinks that I look beautiful and swears that I am much smaller than I was before surgery so I must have lost weight as a result. I would never say him neigh!!!!
That’s funny. Little kids can always be trusted to say exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong moment. Some of us never grow out of it either.
Try some pullups.
Just kidding.
@ugotafriend - The story is hillarious, and I take the “clueless honesty” line as a great compliment to my gender, one I am afraid some of us do not deserve. Nevertheless the generalization is refreshing.
Ouch! Get a large ball and do some back and abdominal exercises while lying on it half way. it really helps. Its easy and you will stretch one set of muscles while relaxing the other.
I was going to meet my family in Disney World when I was pregnant with Thomas and the kid in the row behind me kept saying “Gee, Mom, she’s really fat! I bet the plane won’t be able to take off!”
The mother calmly told him I was pregnant, but you could hear in her voice that she wanted to crawl into a hole. Being pregnant for the first time and wary of my changing body, I did too.
You look fabulous. Take it easy.
@JMHardens060703 - Thanks! It’s just, as you know, they kind of make you more aware than you want to be. I’m so much better after all this reassurance that I took MK and Matthew out to lunch and at fried food instead of settling for salad. I am healing, after all. How to shoot yourself in the foot 101.