Friday family photo—exercise class

My husband left his partnership at Feinknopf, Maccioci and Schappa located in downtown Columbus in 1994 and became a sole practitioner with me as his only staff.  We borrowed a small computer from a friend for billing and specs, and purchased a copier and fax (still using them), and everything else was in his head and hands. Eventually, as his business grew, he moved it from his art studio off the master bedroom to our family room which had an outside entrance for clients.  It was an interesting and exciting time for us. He used to tell people, “The kids left home, Norma got tenure, and the cat died.”  So it seemed a safe time to do something he’d always wanted to do—be in charge from the beginning.  Even so, it seemed unrealistic to expect we’d ever have the income he had as an owner of a successful, larger firm.  Having health coverage on my plan was a huge benefit, of course,  and he arranged for a buy out of his stock in the company to run over several years to give us a small cash flow.  I worked out a cash only budget  and being able to cut our spending (and credit cards) wasn’t hard with just the 2 of us. I simply stopped going to retail stores and reading ads.  We already had everything we needed.  What he didn’t have was an exercise group which he enjoyed on his lunch hour down town at the YMCA. He was part of the PULSE (forgotten what it stands for) instructors and really enjoyed it.  I mentioned to him that there was a morning class at our church, UALC, and he could check into that.  A women’s exercise class?  Oh horrors.  But he did join it, and loved it, and the women loved him.  It was a huge group that also had evening classes.  Over the years as the organizers and original members went back to work or into retirement homes or moved away, the group dwindled and he gradually took on first substituting for instructors, then becoming one, then managing the group. Today we (I joined a few years ago) are a group of 10-15 if every comes, and sometimes “alumni” show up if they are on holiday, or are between jobs.  We currently have three instructors, all from the class, and he subs if one of them goes to India (Rita) or Poland (Christine), or has a busy season at work (Molly). By mid-June we close for the summer, and this year got together at Christine’s home for a brunch and to see photos of her recent trip.