I bought a balance ball last summer, intending to work on my core and rehabilitate my abdominal muscles after last year’s surgery.

Well, I guess being in my 30’s means having equilibrium issues…which I should have remembered after showing-off my fancy bar-twirling tricks at the playground for my kids. Wow. I may still be able to spin around that bar like lightning, but my head spins and my stomach churns the rest of the day.

Lying on my back atop that ball, trying to balance myself while rolling up with my abs did one thing for me: it made me want to vomit. Literally. After one set of abdominal crunches I had to concede: this kind of multi-tasking — balancing and rolling up — doesn’t work for me.

I put the naughty ball in time-out for reminding me of my age.

Then I forgot about it — for months — until I read that exercise balls are an easy way to encourage good posture when used in place of a chair. I freed it from the back of the closet.

My big posture-correcting plan was simple: I would balance on the big ol’ ball for a chair while I worked at the computer.

“What are you doing?” Richard asked me.

“I’m working on getting my posture back,” I answered excitedly.

The next night as I proofread, I leaned on the computer desk, my chin resting in my hand. I caught Richard turning to look at me every few minutes and trying to hide a smile.

“What? Why do you keep looking at me?” I asked, expecting the answer he always gives me: “You’re beautiful.”

“I can see the ball is reallly helping with your posture,” he giggled.

Sigh.

© Alexa Lopez, 2009