Jan7

About my first class back

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About my first class back

Going back to New Year’s Eve when the decision was made for me to return to Jiu-Jitsu, Hubby said, “I hope you’ll be able to sleep tonight.” I laughed.

But he was right.

It was the same the next night, too. The night after that was the one before my first class. I drugged myself, and Hubby volunteered to sleep on the couch to give me the best chance at restful sleep.

What a guy!

When I woke up for the 8:30 class, coffee and some leftover Christmas limoncello Panettone were ready for me. (Again, what a guy!)

Eyes baggy and looking like a trash can that had been knocked over, rained on overnight, and even passed over by a hungry raccoon, I was on my way!

I showed up all smiles. Instructor greeted me warmly. Smiley Guy fist bumped me like I’d never been gone. Since he’s typically only there on Saturdays, maybe he didn’t know I’d been out for seven months. “Crockett,” who got his Combatives belt and joined Master Cycle while I was away, also fist bumped me.

With Her Royal Highness, that completed the class. Naturally, given where my old injuries are, the focus was on heel hooks and leg locks. I felt bruises forming with elation, but was otherwise fine.

At one point, Instructor told me, “That was perfect.” But I also got reprimanded for doing something dumb. This came in the form of a characteristic Instructor analogy. Tailored to his audience, it was about not writing a book before learning your ABCs. I felt bad but also utilized the opportunity to give HRH a hard time. “Writing the book isn’t much good if your friend doesn’t even read it.”

Still, woman? Still? [Public shaming at its finest.]

After class, when the paperwork was done, and I was handed a brand new gi as part of the deal, Instructor said, “Congratulations.”

It was good to be back!

A semi-traditional post-class sloppy-haired selfie.

The night after my first class…

I was lying in bed thinking, “Is that… ankle pain, or am I imagining it?” I chocked it up as the second option and fell asleep.

The next day, Sunday, I was minding my own business, doing nothing special, sitting in my chair in the early evening when my ankle started hurting again. It didn’t let up. Falling asleep was hard, waking up in pain later and trying to fall asleep again was harder.

Not because of the pain, so much, but for wondering if I had made a mistake. And also kicking myself for not anticipating this. Should I renege on the offer? After already telling you all about my triumphant return?

It was unthinkable. I’d have to burn down my blog and pretend I had never been here.

So I strapped on the ol’ ankle brace and headed to my second class Monday night.

I got smiles and fist bumps from Lawyer, The Artist, Andre the Giant, and Pirate. Later, during class, Humble One smiled and waved with gusto from across the mat.

Master Cycle or Master Goofballs?

The Dad was also there, making a rare appearance. He and I talked about our usual manly topics, adding in car racing and the movie Ballerina.

Noting the ankle brace, Instructor asked how my ankle was feeling.

“It seems when I came back here it thought, ‘I remember this place. I know what you did to me here.'” The Dad laughed at that.

Instructor said, “Take it easy. Maybe only roll once a week.”

“Meh,” I said, because at that moment I was flying high and feeling no pain. My ankle is only one part of me saying, “Don’t do this.” All the other parts are having a great time and are therefore outvoting the ankle. #Democracy

“Listen to your body,” Instructor said, with an expression of concern.

I reluctantly agreed, but am also grateful for an excuse to go easy on the rolls. As rusty as I am, I’m sure to get creamed until I can get myself back into warrior condition.

I stayed for just one roll session during which HRH let me review what we’d learned Saturday and very kindly asked what else I’d like to be reminded of. Amazingly, this night’s class was a lesson I had done before, with her in fact, so it was pretty easy. Maybe it won’t take too too long for the techniques I’ve learned to be reignited in my brain.

But what about…

Yes, yes. There was one person I was most eager to see again, largely for your sake.

Since it was a big class, when Surfer Dude glanced over the lineup at the wall from his place center-mat next to his brother, he didn’t directly see me. When it was time to practice, I walked past him, doubled back, and foolishly attempted to choke him. He blocked immediately and leaned forward, making me momentarily airborne.

“I was trying to choke you to let you know I’m back.”

“Oh hi, Ilsa!”

I told him I would need a picture with him for my blog because he’s a fan favorite. “Alright,” he said, pleased.

“Did I tell you how someone once commented, ‘I love Surfer Dude!,’ and I responded, ‘Calm down, Mom’?” He laughed.

Then I told Her Royal Highness, “I hope you’re not offended. I don’t know for sure that he’s the blog favorite. It’s possible you are.”

She said, “It doesn’t matter who the blog’s favorite is because I know I’m you’re favorite.”

Awwww.

So at the end of class, I asked Surfer Dude, “Can we do something silly?”

“Sure. What do you want to do?”

“Can you hoist me on your shoulder?”

“I can put you on both shoulders.”

He’s not back-fisting me in the face. I’m trying to figure out how to get on his shoulders.
“Or I can pick you up fireman style.”

“That sounds funny. Let’s do that. But how do I…”

“I just pick you up.” “Oh, okay.”
Ever the rockstar, he’s maintaining the appropriate look. (Many thanks to HRH for capturing the full evolution of this pose.)

After this, I told SD that I had written his band into my third novel and described the scene. “All right!” he said when I told him a person in Seattle said he’d been following the band since San Diego. Then I described the band playing, noting that I mention a couple lyrics from my favorite song, “Anger Management.” He laughed.

“Keep the band around a couple more years,” I told him. “I’ll try to make you famous.”

“That’s cool. Thank you,” he said.

You never know, right?

Last Q with A: A thick-walled tightly sealed cast-iron pot used for open-flame baking is indeed a Dutch Oven.

New Q: George Howell’s Boston-area chain The Coffee Connection invented and trademarked this beverage.

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81 responses »

  1. You are so going to get your foot amputated this year, I can tell. Maybe all the way up to the knee! If so, you should get a wood replacement so we can call you “Peggy” instead of Ilsa, or Betsy. That’d be a hoot 🙂

    I had zero idea about last post’s trivia, but now you’re talking about Boston, right in my area. Too bad I hate that place with a passion and do my best to pretend it doesn’t exist. So once again, I’m clueless 😉

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  3. It’s so nice to see you back at your happy place and to see your cast of characters, especially SD! I hope your ankle pain will go away and that you can enjoy a full return to the dojo and what you love!

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    • Other than Instructor, Andre was the only one to say, “What’s up with that?” Everyone else didn’t see it or ignored it, which I’m cool with.

      Thank you, Jacqui!! Here’s hoping for the best!

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    • Well done! The pics are fun, no? So long as I’m wearing the brace, the ankle is fine. That’s why nighttime when I take it off is the hardest. Pills have not been effective, and I certainly wouldn’t want to be taking some every night, so I just shut up and deal. It was the same with my last JJ stint, so I’ll get used to the routine once again. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up, but as this blog is my on-line journal, there you have it. 🙂

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      • When things get really bad, yes. And sometimes I’ll rest my feet on ice packs, which is soothing for those 20 minutes. But for the most part, I just do my best to ignore it, which I’ve gotten fairly decent at. I shouldn’t complain, but am keeping you all apprised of the goings on. 😛

        Liked by 1 person

  10. So nice to see you in action and on the mat! I’m sure the ankle will get used to it, I suppose you need to take it slow and be patient (ok, this advice comes from the most impatient person on earth, who could never follow her own advice – I’d be the first one overdoing everything 🤣🤦🏼‍♀️) But what really amazes me: a husband who sleeps on the couch, so you can get better sleep? Really? That exists? I’m now wondering if you are living in some kind of parallel universe… 🤔😉

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    • Oh good, Andrea. I’m glad you saw this post. I’d hate for you to miss out on the stories, especially after I promised you on Instagram that more were coming. Yeah, boo on taking it slow. I’m not going to class every night. Shooting for 3x per week, so I could be taking it faster at any rate! (This means I only skip two classes. 😛 ) And, yes, parallel universe indeed! 😉

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      • Oh wow, you have classes every night? We only do twice a week and most people only show up one class per week. I remember we did Taekwondo 3 evenings per week and that was as a LOT. And only doable because that was before kids 😉

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      • I had Taekwondo 2 nights a week, and I did it WITH my kids. Well, the girl kids. The youngest, a boy, stayed home for special dad time, which was cool in its own way. He’s in TKD now. I still need to write about that.

        As far as JJ, classes every day except Friday (though they did when I was there before) and Sunday. There was very little “before kids” time in my adult life; hence, starting old. Oh well. Better late than never. 🙂

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      • I’m doing Aikido with my girl – makes it easier. I always have someone to practice with and ask stupid questions. The teenage brain learns quicker and remembers more than my old one 🤣

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  11. Wahoo! Glad to see you back in your element… but I do admit to being concerned that your ankle is screaming at you. I’ve been trying to ignore my bad knee for 5 years and am probably staring at replacement.
    You’d hate to be in a position where Surfer Dude had to carry you around for real. Or not… he looks more than capable.
    😉

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  12. As much as I’d love to say “it sucks getting old”, the closest I can go with you is “… older”. Maybe the ankle just needs a little “breaking in”? (heh) Way to be strong with the brace instead of surrendering the gi. As long as you’re not making this comeback just for us. We’ll be here no matter what you write about. Total guess on the trivia: flat white?

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    • And I would have literally surrendered the gi. I had just been given in and hadn’t worn it yet. I was wondering if I should make the call to give it back while it was still new.

      “Breaking in” Heh.

      Not back just for you; although, I did feel like there wasn’t much to talk about on here other than boring book stuff. Maybe once I got over admitting my shame of no more JJ, I could write like a normal person again. Who knows, maybe I’d start constructing complicated Lego structures and post about that! 😉 And the trivia answer starts with an F…

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  14. I always assumed Frappuccino was a Starbucks invention, seeing as how they’re aiming for world coffee domination.

    Say, friend…buddy…pal…if you’re willing to give Surfer Dude’s band a shot at fame and glory, maybe “No Time for Kings” could make a cameo in Book 3, too! Perhaps Ana or Isaac are reading it while unwinding after a long day of invisibility. They don’t have to gush over it or anything. But they don’t have to not gush over it either…

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    • I would have assumed the same thing. And, yes, world domination for sure.

      Oh wow. What a can of worms I may have opened up here. I appreciate your faith in me that my books would do well enough to make any sort of difference. But as to the band, I NEEDED a heavy metal band. Choosing SD’s was absolutely perfect for the scene. I didn’t manufacture an excuse to include it. Didn’t you also ask for an invisible… what animal was it? Dog? Sheep? I’m having a hard time keeping up with the demands. Since everything has to have a purpose, we’ll see if the story takes me some place where a book on ecoterrorists would make sense.

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      • It would almost be like making a point of mentioning Ana drinking Dasani. “Not just any water bottle will do. I need a Dasani.” I recently rewatched The Truman Show. Remember the product placements in that? Ha.

        Okay, I admit I don’t remember the animal, but it was NOT a jackalope. Although, that is funny. Wait, was it actually a deer? Do YOU even remember now? 😛

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      • Haha! There’s no shame in product placement these days. “Selling out” was a total ’90s concept.

        I suggested they (or someone) hit an invisible deer with their car!

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  15. Frappuccino. I never understood the drink, but I know what it is. I’ll just have a raspberry latte, thanks.

    and I listen to my body all the time. Mostly it says, “Stop doing that,” or “What the hell are you thinking at your age?”

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  16. Oh my goodness…I know I’ll encounter a few LOL moments in every post from you and this sentence was the keeper…the winner…my fave!
    “It was unthinkable. I’d have to burn down my blog and pretend I had never been here.”
    I mean, right? The thoughts running through your head!
    Sending hugs…keep wearing the brace! 😜❤️😜

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  17. “Eyes baggy and looking like a trash can that had been knocked over, rained on overnight, and even passed over by a hungry raccoon…” you’ve just described me to a T. lol Trivia answer: Frappuccino (I’ve never had one and yet I live 30 minutes from Boston)

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    • Haha, Faith. Knowing what you’re going through right now, I don’t doubt it, and yet, also knowing you, you probably still somehow manage to look beautiful.

      You’ve never had one?! Guuurl…

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  19. Instructor’s comment about listening to your body has merit. Am I to understand that HRH has never read your book‽‽‽ (note three interrobangs!) That’s pretty shocking to me. Does she possibly have a disability that she’s never told you about?

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