My daughter recently mentioned actress Gwyneth Paltrow to me. Daughter is not a fan. Why I asked? Gwyneth is an attractive woman who had done a great job in her recurring role on Glee. I know she's done other things, but I can't name them other than the amazing photos I've seen of her on the Red Carpet during award ceremonies. She is certainly a thin woman with fine taste in evening wear.
My daughter elaborated. Gwyneth is out of touch. She says that EVERY WOMAN can make time to exercise EVERY DAY. My daughter is an attorney and educational advocate for a local NGO related to the welfare of adopted and foster children. She spends a lot of time every day speaking with foster and adopted parents who are struggling with the needs of the children in their care.
The notion that these women have all the time and resources that Gwyneth is lucky to enjoy is laughable. Gwyneth surely doesn't have to clean her own house. She doesn't have to do 10 loads of laundry a week, pay the bills, or get oil changes for her car(s). I'm being presumptuous here. But, surely she has far more creature comforts and discretionary income and time than the rest of us. So a statement from her regarding EVERY WOMAN or EVERY DAY might be difficult to take without a pound or two of salt.
My daughter is right, of course. But, so is Gwyneth despite all the amenities she may enjoy that the rest of us do not.
Gwyneth is a mom of two, and until recently was the wife of a huge rock star. She comes from a family of wealth and privilege with mom, Boston Main Line actress Blythe Danner, and father, the late writer Bruce Paltrow. Certainly Gwyneth has never known a moment of true need or financial insecurity.
Most of us have way to much to do every day. We have jobs outside the home and even more jobs in and around the home. Every day, every woman I know must juggle the duties at work and home. Most also have additional balls to juggle - kids, husbands, elderly parents, a month that's longer than the paycheck, and all kinds of extracurricular and community activities that require attention.
Still, if Gwyneth can do it, the rest of us can too. No, we don't have a yoga studio in our back yard like Gwyneth has. No, we have no one to do the laundry, balance the checkbook, select and pay for our designer wardrobe, or shuttle the kids hither and yon - not to mention paying attention to the husband and picking up mother in law's prescriptions.
Gwyneth might be a good role model for us. It seems that no matter what other irons she has in the fire, she exercises EVERY DAY. She said it herself. What I'm sure she meant is that she, herself, is important enough to make time for EVERY DAY. Aren't the rest of us?
So, it might not be as easy as the private personal trainer in the yoga studio in the back yard on the private estate in England, (see the photo above for verification) but it can be done.
Take comfort in knowing that you won't have to show off your prominent pelvic bones on the Red Carpet. Take comfort in knowing that the whole world isn't watching you sweat. (Do you think she sweats? She doesn't look like she sweats.) Take comfort in knowing that you haven't been replaced as the main squeeze of the rock star.
Just put one foot in front of another and go for a walk, secure in the knowledge that Gwyneth would approve. After all, aren't you as important to your family as a movie star is to hers? Actually I think I'm more important than that to my family. They like me even thought I can't fit into a size 00 slinky evening gown. That's gotta be worth something - even to Gwyneth.
PS - Please save your hate mail. I don't hate Gwyneth. But, I don't envy her either.
*************************** Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.
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1 comment:
I think exercise by 'real people' in the 'real world' looks different than what celebrities do.
WE park at the far end of the parking lot and walk to the store. WE take the steps instead of the elevator or escalator. WE carry all the grocery bags into the house at once to build upper body strength, and do squats as we clean the toilet to strengthen our quads.
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