Reclaiming fun from the past
You might retry Hippity Hopping.
Exertion that might have you stopping
With just a short start,
It revs up your heart.
Add song—moving now becomes "Bopping."
Do you remember skipping
When you were a kid?
I recently read that skipping is
Good exercise.
I skipped as a child; never thought of it
As exercise.
It was a way to put the tune
Mama sang, with
Activity described,
Skipping.
"Hippity Hop to the barbershop
To buy a stick of candy.
One for you and one for me and
One for Uncle Andy ..."
I would sing the rhyme and
Skip down the sidewalk,
Usually by myself.
Skip until I ran out of breath,
And couldn't skip any farther.
Often that was along one whole side of a block
Plus a bit around the corner.
Bouncy, hard work,
Kind of fun.
When I recently read of skipping as
Worthwhile cardio exercise,
I decided to start skipping again.
After decades of not doing that
It took me several tries to even
Remember the hippity-hopping "how.”
In some long straight section of hallway
In my condo building, where no one would show up
I tried to get back to that rhythm…
While keeping one hand lightly one the wall
To steady the Hops.
Learning to skip again
Now I can make my way down the middle.
Awkward, sort of flailing,
Looking like Scarecrow from "Wizard of Oz"
But not as graceful as he was.
I can Hippity Hop about fifty feet.
Then I am breathless.
I gently walk a bit until breathing is steady,
And try again.
No question that it is cardio exercise.
Not sure how long I'll keep at it,
It's a new (old) activity.
Maybe the best part is
Singing my way down the hallway,
Or across some room.
It there something from your
Kid-Playtime to pull in
For a "new" cardio plan?
Might be fun.
Might be harder than you remember,
Give it a try.
Hugs,
Lin
Hi Lin,
Skipping was a part of my childhood. Hippity Hop! I know that rhyme. Thank you for sharing this about your new activity.
Bruce’s mother jumped rope well into her 80’s. I cannot jump at all!
When I look out our windows and see a child walking with a parent the child is often skipping along. It makes me happy and reminds me of my childhood in Portland, Oregon..home sweet home.
jan 2304
Ah, sweet memories! Thank you for sharing yours!
Oh Lin – your video made me laugh with joy.
Then I tried skipping again my self. I can do it for the length of the song – sort of.
In the video I can't see your bottom foot – are your lifting it off the floor. I'm not. I take much of my weight off the foot but it is just sliding across the floor. I'll keep practicing.
Love –
Hope
Perhaps a tiny bit off the floor, but not far, Hope. 🙂 Here’s to reviving skipping!