From time to time FBD will have a guest blogger writing about subjects which are different from fitness, but under the umbrella of wellness.   In this blog Steve Smith selects a topic about remaining calm and relates his personal experience and observations.  We think you’ll find his insights helpful, entertaining, and perhaps thought provoking.

We were loading the car after a wonderful weekend of hiking and exploring West Baden and French Lick, Indiana when Laura, my wife, asked me if I had seen her purse.  I hadn’t.  Guys, if you’ve been married more than a couple of years (for me…it’s been 24!),  you may have found yourself in a similar situation. 

We unloaded the car.  We checked the Villa.  No purse.

Laura was getting a bit anxious.  I was concerned.  Laura doesn’t lose things very often.  We calmly talked through where she could have left it.  Our first thought was the restaurant where we had been on Saturday.  No purse. 

Laura called the bank to see if there was any fraudulent activity on the accounts.   

But where could it be?  I recalled how the car was unlocked on Saturday morning.  I never leave it unlocked.  Maybe someone was able to “jimmy” it.

Laura was skeptical that the restaurant had a reliable “lost and found” system.  

There was no fraudulent activity on the debit card.  Then Laura spoke to the credit card agent.

We checked at the Villa office where we stayed — the lady behind the desk said she had $50 stolen from her purse recently, so I guess she wasn’t trying to put us at ease, and we still had no purse. 

By this time it had been about an hour since we started looking. 

“I’m not leaving this town until I find it!” Laura declared.   We had been to the grocery so I jumped out and checked.  No purse.

The credit card turned up no unusual purchases.  

What kind of thief would steal a purse and not use the credit cards?

Finally, we went to the French Lick Resort where we had been swimming and playing billiards.  We hoped that maybe it had been turned in.  No purse.  As we walked away Laura wanted to write down everything we did.  She dictated. 

 1. We unloaded the car Saturday night at midnight…

“I know where it is!!” Laura said with a bit of uneasiness.
 
“Where?”  I said.

“I put it in the nightstand drawer at the Villa.  When we went hiking on Saturday morning I didn’t want to make it easy for it to get stolen,” Laura said sheepishly.

“So you outsmarted yourself,” I said as we both laughed. 

We were both relieved, but the miracle wasn’t just that we found the purse.  The real miracle was that I remained calm and helpful.  I didn’t do what I might have felt like doing –  roll my eyes, sigh, tell her what to do, raise my voice or leave her to deal with it while I strolled the grounds.    

Like I previously mentioned, we have been married 24 years and occasionally I have lost keys, wallets, Oakley sunglasses…and my wife has been my essential ally in finding them.  The least I could do was learn from her example. 

What have you learned about yourself lately?   
 
Steve Smith, Personal Trainer and Life Coach at Fitness by Design

Mark your calendar to cheer on your favorite team (trainer). Enjoy camaraderie, competition, and food & drink of course. It’s a party to raise awareness and funds for two deserving causes!

Please join Fitness by Design in our charity event to benefit Team Fox for Parkinson’s Research and Kids In Transit.

Our first Chins for Charity event was held in 1997, and was the idea of Rob Hudson and his staff of Personal Trainer’s at that time.  Well…we are bringing it back with the intention of it becoming an annual fundraising event.

What is Chins for Charity?

Teams consisiting of 4 people each will perform chin-ups for 30 minutes straight, rotating each person one right after the other for the entire 30 minute period. Teams will compete to get the most chins!  Family, friends, and co-workers will pledge a donation to Team Fox for Parkinson’s Research and Kids In Transit, FBD’s selected charities.  The team with the highest total number of chin-ups will also get an extra $100 monetary donation from FBD to their choice of the two title charities.

Donations can occur at any time, you do not have to wait until the day of the event to donate.  In fact, the day of the event will be the CLIMAX not the kick-off, so we would like to raise as much moolah as possible BEFORE THE CHIN UP CONTEST!

REGISTER your team today.  There are 3 Divisions: Body Weight, Blue Band, and Mixed.  Not sure where you fit in?  Click on the link where all the details are listed.

WHERE & HOW DO I DONATE?

You get to choose which charity speaks close to your heart, they both are favorites of ours.

Team Fox for Parkinson’s Research in honor and recognition of Larry Howald who battles this disease with fierce determination, grace,  kick-butt workouts with Cheryl, and the support of wonderful family and friends.  You will find the Fitness by Design, Chins for Charity Link and make your donation directly to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Kids In Transit headed by Kristin Beaty, who recently began this non-profit to help children moving into the foster care system.  Read all about her charity at her link and you can donate directly there as well.  Kristin has several partners in her effort at KIT; Jen Killian and Linda Kaplan also parnter with her in small group training here at FBD.