A week from tomorrow is my audition to become a Jazzercise instructor.

A week. The waiting is agony. I’m nervous because in some ways I feel like I’m not ready. I’m anxious because in many ways I feel like I am ready and just want to get it over with. The days loom over me as I wait. Practice. Wait. Hurt. Wait. Practice some more. That’s the cycle I’m in, and I’m ready for it to be over!

This entire process has been mind opening. There are so many aspects to fitness that one takes for granted when you take a class. Most likely, an instructor has to be CPR certified, trained to do all body movements correctly, trained to do all the body movements opposite to what feels natural so that the movements are mirrored to the client, trained to speak while performing said movements, learning music, choreography, timing, how to establish a set…. the list goes on and on!

For me, I had to do all of this on top of training sessions, regular classes to build stamina, and practicing at home. I’ve had conference calls to dissect movement and discuss cueing layers. There’s so much that the client does not see.

Whether I pass or fail next Saturday, I’ve had a mini army of people who have helped me get to where I am today. I am thankful for all of the instructors who have encouraged and gave me feedback. I am thankful for the clients at Jazzercise Tyrone and PTC who have been so supportive, cheering me on every step of the way.

But most of all, I’m thankful for my family, especially my husband. I wouldn’t have started this journey without his support and approval. Not only has my time been absorbed into training, exercising and studying, but his time too as he stays home and watches the kids. He has picked up my slack around the house as I haven’t had that much energy to clean the house. He’s the one that sends me off to take a bath when I’m in a grumpy mood and complaining about how my legs ache. There are a ton of hidden costs to become an instructor too, and as the sole income for our family, my husband has paid for it all. All of this without complaint (or at least, not verbally to me! haha).

He’s my hero. He doesn’t even read my blog so he has no idea that I’m writing about him. 🙂 So if on next Saturday I become an official Jazzercise instructor, it’ll be mostly because of him. I couldn’t/wouldn’t have done it without him, and I’m so thankful that God gave him to me. We are opposites in many ways, and we don’t always agree on everything, but I can’t imagine taking this journey with anyone else. As that famous quote goes from the movie Jerry Maguire: “You complete me.”

Here’s a picture of me and my man from 2018 when we vacationed in San Francisco.