Hello there,
It seems appropriate to start this post with a greeting. So many of us are missing face to face, voice and physical contact these days. While some are going about their lives as normal (don’t get me started on the Spring-breakers in Florida!), others are self quarantined, and still others are somewhere in between.
I have waffled, which is unlike my normal self. I am more of a reactor in general. I see, I hear, I do. Not always the best way to handle things but it is how I do, me. When I received the message midday on a Wednesday that our son’s school would be closing for 2 weeks in an effort to ‘flatten the curve’ (just one of the new buzz word/sayings), I took it in stride. A trickle of joy ran through me as the thought of having our son home for a couple weeks entered my brain.
Imagine my joy when not only school was canceled for 2 weeks, but so was soccer. Don’t get me wrong (yes, I just heard a collective gasp through the cloud slammed back at me), I LOVE watching M play soccer. However, the thought of a couple weeks without school AND soccer, brought visions of the ocean dancing in my head! I quickly began a search for vacation rentals at our favorite WA coast beach town. My hubby, who thinks a lot like me, was doing the same exact thing in another room of the house. We collaborated and booked a house for the following week.
After picking up our ‘son from another mother’, D, we packed up and headed to the coast for 5 days. We called it our spring break. (Now, hold your tongue! We did not party like it’s 1999 or anything of the sort.). We maintained social distancing from other people, ate in our rental home (not in restaurants), went on private walks through the woods, played ping-pong in the garage of the rental, played pickle ball (when no one else was) and did not join in other vacationers gatherings.
That last paragraph, the content of it, was VERY difficult for me (and Laurie). We are social by nature. We see a dog, we go pet it. We see people shooting hoops, we invite ourselves to join in. We see a child playing alone, we ask them to join our group. It’s in our DNA to be inclusive. Needless to say, we struggled, but we heeded all warnings and suggested cautions to maintain social distance. And instead, we had a blast with just our family, D, and Yuto (exchange student from Japan that lives with Laurie). We were our 6 (under 10).
With all this time on my hands I decided to take up an invite to tryout a newly started workout class via Zoom. My long time friend, Jessica Gleason, founder, owner and instructor for SDF (Seattle Dance Fitness) has stretched her creative business skills and is hosting workouts via a video platform. Women who normally went to her live classes at multiple locations throughout North Seattle, needed a way to keep working out and stay connected. I have been so proud of the business Jessica has started, watching it flourish and grow from a guest instructor at local fitness facilities to her own full fledged (FEMALE OWNED AND RAN) business. Talk about BOSS BABE! Just when she was killing it and had added multiple instructors to her booty shaking fleet, the virus hit and through a wrench in her business curve.
Rather than let that knock her out, Jessica picked herself up and began planning. Finding solutions, researching video options and creating a website for access. BOOM! Take that Covid-19. I have now tried a weeknight dance workout, a weekday kid/family hip hop class and a Saturday morning workout. All were fun, physical and made me sweat! Today’s workout unleashed hidden emotion within me, bringing joy and a sense of connection even though I had turned my video part off and knew the others couldn’t see my scary dance moves. We moved, we danced, I’m sure we laughed, we sweated, and we connected through the internet/cloud waves, all because of what Jessica has grown over these past years in her business.
As much as this Blog post did not start out as an advertisement for Seattle Dance Fitness, I guess that is where it has gone. My initial thought was to share what we are doing and how we are fairing so far (which is just fine). We are loosely schooling at home. We are working as much as we can with our real estate clients (email us, call us, text us for real estate advice now and going forward). We are going to church online with Westside Church. We have limited our contact to a small group of about 10 people (our fam, Laurie and her exchange student, D and one other small fam) to keep our social distance responsibility in check. We are getting outside, running, walking, doing workouts at home, yelling at kids to get off screens (not much yelling really), and playing games. And yes, watching some TV.
I am not a gym membership kind of person. Ask my bestie, Dawn, she has tried to get me to join for forever. I am also not much of a go to a workout class kind of person. As much as I am believed to be an extrovert, I do not like group work outs. I am a workout from home, DVD, elliptical, go for a run, kind of gal. I like my group interaction from a distance and without the after workout chat. You heard it here.
Several days ago I caught a small portion of a Facebook Live from my friend Jessica, Owner of SDF (Seattle Dance Fitness). She was sharing her heart with her dance family. Many women (and a few men) go to her classes on the weekly. Some a few times a week. They are seriously a family. I’ve seen the way they interact (from the comfort and safety of my home sneaking a peek on Facebook). With the shut down of groups larger than 50, which stretched out to include Restaurants, Churches, Gyms, and pretty much everywhere except grocery markets and pharmacies, SDF lost their ability to get together and workout. More so, Jess lost her income. Fitness instruction is her bread and butter. No workouts, no money, no paycheck. It broke my heart.
In her video Jess let them all know she was going to start Live classes via a platform called Zoom. Many of us in the business industry and writing world have been using Zoom for meetings for quite a while now. It turns out it can be used for workouts as well! SDF would be offering a limited schedule of classes while they roll it out and add more as the need and ability arises should the need for us to stay home continue. There was a link to her website (which I have linked anywhere you see ‘SDF‘ in this post) and I went to check it out. As well as offering classes via Zoom she was offering the first week free for newbies (like me). I decided to take her up on the offer.
My boys and I attended the Kids/Family Hip Hop last week and I attended a Thursday night as well as a class this morning. Our first two classes we did while we were off on a family trip on the WA coast from our rental. This morning I logged in from home. Both times I was able to connect my laptop to my TV with an HDMI cable. Very cool to follow Jess/SDF on the big screen right in my home! The classes are fun, the music is engaging and Jess does a fantastic job keeping you going for 50 minutes. The moves are somewhat difficult, but she gives you tips and you are able to muddle your way through. I will add, now that I’ve done 3 classes, many of the moves/songs are repeated class to class so you will get the hang of it. Most importantly, YOU WILL SWEAT! And, you will have fun!
Near the end of today’s workout I found myself a little emotional. I really didn’t think I was feeling anything about the situation we are in, the virus, Covid-19 other than caution in regards to germs. I have felt blessed to have the time with my family, the ability to be home, the means to stock up and even to getaway. As I worked out and heard Jess, saw the ladies dancing and having fun, I felt the love, the encouragement coming through the internet/cloud waves directly into my heart, and it felt good. I shed a couple tears, sucked in a big breath and kept moving. The workout wasn’t over!
I want to encourage you to do what you can to help others around you during this time. If you can run to the store for a neighbor, do it. If you have supplies to give, offer them up. If you have the means to order take-out/food from a restaurant, do it. If you have the financial ability to join Seattle Dance Fitness Live Classes during this time, DO IT! I would love to see this small business stay a float during this time, and be able to pick back up strong when we all recover going forward.
So, go to SDF.
Check out the schedule.
Sign up for a punch pass or a monthly membership.
Support this business AND…….
Get ready to shaky your Boo-tay, burn some calories, catch a smile and FEEL the love!
Much love,
Kristi Lyn Reddy
Reddy Real Estate Team – Owner/Broker
Reddy2Write – Author, Blogger
Work-from-home-real-estate-broker-home-school-soccer-mom-wife-work-outer-with-SDF
