Jumping In

I've only known my sporty daughter to miss making a team once. It was the skipping team in grade 4. So when tryouts came around again in grade 5, she was determined to make the team. And of course she did. And what a team it was! They travelled from school to school performing a

30-minute jump rope demonstration (ever see the movie Jump In?), encouraging students to live active lives and to participate in Jump Rope for Heart.

It's our week to support something local, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation is a national organization that makes an impact locally and across the country. When 9 out of 10 people are at risk of heart disease and/or stroke in Canada, it's hard to imagine a cause more relevant. So when my younger kids came home with their pledge forms for Jump Rope for Heart this week, it seemed fitting to designate this week's donation to that. (And it means my little guy will get a very cool shiny soccer ball as a fundraising prize -- a nice bonus for him).

When skipping practices were happening around here, I joined in. It had been awhile! But it came back to me pretty quickly, and what a great workout it is. Ten minutes of jumping rope is equivalent to half an hour of jogging -- that kind of efficient exercise appeals to me (especially given how much I dislike jogging). So now I incorporate skipping into most of my fitness classes, and I'll do so again today, in honour of the many people that each of us knows who have been affected by heart disease and stroke. (Just for fun, check out this cool video of me doing just that -- sign up, and you can be jumpified too!)


And somehow 'jumping in' fits this year's giving philosophy for me. Try it!

PS -- Thank you to each person who has sent me ideas for the blog. I'll be getting to them as quickly as I can, and I've been encouraged by the conversations that have been initiated through this crazy project. Next week the donation goes to an inspiring individual. Not sure yet who that'll be. Any ideas?