Eleventh Hour

I am not an adept of the eleventh hour. I always complete my tasks ahead of time. My notes were thoroughly studied, my flash cards memorized, my papers typed before the deadline. As a matter of fact,  I had never heard the term deadline before college and till this day,  it never really applied to me. I always highlighted readings on the syllabus weeks ahead of time. On the day before exams, I used to abandon my future husband to his all nighters and catch an artsy movie solo. We either got the same grades on those exams, or his were slightly higher.

Most of the time, I have birthday gifts ready months ahead of time (although I have occasionally bought them late too). I always pack a week ahead of time of a trip so I can  even socialize hours before the plane ride. I fill gas when the tank is half empty. However, the eleventh hour really applied to me when I began practicing pilates, five years ago.

I had bought a package of ten lessons. I took it one lesson at a time. Attending but not focusing. I didn't think of it as the art it is, but rather as a fitness activity. Just do it, I thought. I soon realized that pilates was closer to ballet and further away from an aerobics class. Instinctively, I rejected it.

 I had never enjoyed ballet. I laughed while  sending text messages to my friends "I Hate Pilates". I counted the classes, waiting for the tenth class that would end my experiment. My husband had promised me a pair of new jeans if I completed the package.

After the tenth class, I was already celebrating the end, when my mother took me aside and encouraged me: "come on, one more class, for my sake, I know you will like it."

 So I reluctantly attended that eleventh class, for my mother's sake who never liked to see any one of her four children give up on anything, and somehow, something clicked. I LOVED IT!

I have been hooked since. I have learned how to focus and listen. I have acquired posture and flexibility.  I don't do any unwarranted movements in my daily life. I am very aware of my core and the health of my spine. I have also earned many pairs of jeans since(eventually my husband even stopped getting them for me). I skip abdominals (crunches are forbidden in pilates) and I never do massages. What is the point when I am all stretched out and my muscles nimble after a session of pilates?