In a previous post, I compared my daughter, Vivian, to Tigger. Like Pooh’s psychotic sidekick, Vivian does not so much sit as vibrate. She even moves when she sleeps, kicking imaginary bandits and wrestling with blankets.
But now she’s sick. Not seriously ill, but sick nonetheless, either with a nasty flu, an ear infection or walking pneumonia. There’s been no clear, single diagnosis, but she’s battled a flu-like illness for 10 days now with on-and-off fevers, which –until lately– were creeping up the mercury. Antibiotics seem to be sorting it all out.
On one of her worst days, I came home early. I found my husband (who was also sick) asleep, and I found Vivian watching PBS. The morning cartoons, however, had ended, and the programming had changed to target more of an elderly audience. Vivian was undeterred by this demographic shift. Not only was she perched on the end of our bed rapt in the latest episode of Sit and Be Fit, but her pale self was copying all the movements, from calf raises to chair-walking (which incidentally did not involve self-propelling furniture across the room).
Vivian gladly tolerated the workout soundtrack that included Vivaldi and Yanni. When the instructor and her three cheerful but un-miked Supremes progressed to adding props, I became Vivian’s trainer. Off to the bathroom I jogged to get her a hand towel, so she could grasp each end with her hands, lift it above her head like a banner, and perform modified tricep extensions. Later, when I had abandoned Vivian, she yelled, “Mom, I need my runners. Now!” Evidently chair aerobics require proper footwear.
Yes, our sick daughter, Tigger incarnate, was ill and was exercising. The instructors and her gang were also exercising. And me? I was grabbing the camera and my notebook to record the moment.
Maybe next year I’ll exercise. Or maybe tomorrow I’ll just pull up my chair and join these women who are way more active than me.
So, Ironic Mom, should I be concerned that my 17 year old daughter recognized the photo as being from “Sit and Be Fit” without actually reading the blog?
I’m thinking I should sent her off to university,pour myself a glass (or two) of red wine and pretend this particular incident did not take place..
Lisa
Too funny. In Starbuck, we didn’t get cable… And to the glass(es) of red wine, I say yes!
When we were kids, my brother and I used to sometimes find our mother in the family room doing Sit and Be Fit. Holy man, we’d laugh so hard at her. She’d shoo us away, in fits of giggles herself, determined to break a sweat. The image of it still makes me laugh. Good times.
I am laughing trying to imagine walking in on your mom doing this…
I, also, recognized Sit & Be Fit right away. Too funny! I think it’s hilarious that she did the whole routine. Maybe that’s a new audience for them…..you never know.
According to their website, their second biggest demographic group are kids aged 2-11…
lol – And least it was tame adult programming? (Lets hope Vivian doesn’t pick up any fashion tips from the nice lady on Sit and Be Fit!)
Good point about the fashion tips…and tame adult programming! She could have been mimicking far worse things…
I have followed the Sit and Be Fit workouts for 3 years now. We just advanced to using gallons of milk for tricep workouts. Oh yeah. Somebody better grab a sewing needle cause I’m ripped!
What’s a gallon? 😉 LOL at your punny self…
Hysterical. I love watching Sit and Be Fit because I can keep up the pace. I feel so healthy, as opposed to the junk heap I feel like when I do real exercise.
I think I’m a convert. It might be the only show that makes me feel that I have some fashion sense.
Maybe she has exercising pnemonia. [sorry for Vivian’s sickness that’s actually quite horrible 🙁
She’s slowly getting better – only 2 wake-ups last night.
I am officially depressed knowing that other people are working out in chairs and here this whole time I thought I needed to stand.
ROFL. Good point.
I found it amusing that your husband was asleep during this. I’ve woke up to find the kids doing some disturbing things, but not Sit and Fit.
Do you remember the happy painter guy with the fro? We stopped by there the other day, and the kids were totally enraptured. They were immediately scrambling for paper and colors and drawing happy trees.
Hope Vivian gets on the mend. And DH, too.
I don’t remember the happy painter guy with the fro. But I grew up with only 4 channels, one of which was in French. The plus side of this, however, is that I can do play-by-play for hockey games in French.
I love that Viv got sucked into the Sit and Be Fit workout. It would be so fun to be a fly on the wall in a child’s mind sometimes.
Perhaps Sit and Be Fit is the perfect way to ease myself back into a workout routine. My P90X dvd’s are currently mocking my whenever I turn my back. But when I used them last, I ended up having to make my first ever visit to a chiropractor and that’s what put me off the exercise wagon in the first place.
A chiropractor? That would happen to me. After all, I broke my toe barbecuing. It was a Jamie Oliver recipe. I blame him.
I wonder if we can do Sit and Be Fit in a recliner…
Omigosh. I have never heard of “Sit & Be Fit.” It looks positively geriatric. So glad your daughter found a way to entertain herself while recuperating. Maybe you need to invest in a Yanni CD. I swear, you are pee-in-my-pants funny. And I just did. A little. 😉 Check my bloggie tomorrow. Seriously, it is among my top five faves.
I’ll check your blog for sure as it’s in my Google Reader. And don’t you just hate Kegels? Another sitting exercise I can’t be bothered with…
I see I’m one of the few who’ve never heard of Sit and Be Fit. I don’t know what that says about me. Am I out of the loop? Should I be happy about that?
Stay out of the loop!
That’s too funny. My daughter (who is constantly moving as well) doesn’t have any interest in ‘sit and be fit’ yet….as soon as it comes on she’s fleeing the room and finding trouble to get into!
I’m not sure if you’re lucky or unlucky…
Oh, my daughter was quite the Sit and Be Fit fan back in her preschool days. She’d perch on the coffee table doing the exercises. It is compelling viewing, especially when you’re sick. I remember flopping on the couch with my room mate during university, both of us sick with colds, and watching entire episodes due to our NeoCitran-weakened minds (and possibly hangovers). OK, mostly hangovers. The lady reminded us of our moms.