Day 11: Don't Lose Yourself Or Your Hope 'Cause Life's Like A Jump Rope

I love my new jump rope. Yes, you read that correctly. I absolutely love it! And I think it likes me too.

After the demise of the Implement of Torture previous jump rope as I barely thwarted it's attempt to seriously maim me, I had to quickly go out and buy a new one. I walked into the sporting goods store and looked at all of the different kinds of jump rope they sold. It's absolutely amazing the prices they charge for some of them!

The Implement of Torture previous jump rope was one of those old-style models that were often found in grade school gym class: cotton rope which was attached to two wooden handles by means of a metal connector. The kind of device that many boys used as numchuks much to many a girl's dismay. Yeah, it was old school.

The new jump rope is all black and very sleek. Although I attempted to use it yesterday, the Implement of Torture previous jump rope made sure I was in no condition to really try the new one out. So today was really the first day I was able to take the new jump rope out for a spin.

After my previous experience, I was dreading what evil plot it had in store for me. With trepidation, I swung the rope. The grips helped guide my hands to the proper position, and with just a flick of the wrist the rope went around effortlessly. It gave a gentle tap the ground, emitting a soft "tic" sound to let me know that I had to jump over it. "Tic", hop, "tic", hop. Eventually, it stopped the "tic" sound. Swoosh, jump, swoosh, jump, swoosh, jump. It was like a dream! I didn't have to jump very high in order to clear it. My knee was thankful for that little mercy!

Before I knew it, I had completed 100 jumps before having to stop and catch my breath. Oh, they weren't smooth jump in the least as I stumbled a few times, but the new jump rope was there with it's encouragement. "See how easy 100 jumps can be?" it prompted enthusiastically. "The next 100 can be just as easy."

The time flew by for me and the new jump rope. 650 jumps completed, and by the end I wasn't even sounding like a walrus during mating season. It was the best session I ever had! Although I wish we could have played more, we both knew that I had to stop for the day. We'll get together again tomorrow to tackle the 700 jumps.