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I came back here after I was cleaning the guestroom, when I got to my Aikido equipment. The months since my ‘retirement' I have longed to get back to the mat, and to reclaim that part of my life… to feel as balanced as I once felt. Sidelined by pregnancy is a noble enough reason to step back, but still I miss being able to tumble and roll and the general sense of connection that I always felt. I feel like a leaf on the wind, tumbling away, losing sight of what once was.
Aikido was and will always be my freedom. No one told me I was too fat or too short, or that I wasn't built right or that I was lacking some prerequisite for entering into the fold. I was accepted and embraced, and the feeling was wonderful. I had been afraid to dedicate my self wholly to anything after my many years dancing and the injuries within and without that I had sustained.
I actually cried when I went to fold my hakama, as it had come undone in the move to our new home. I had hoped to be able to take my tumbles in this simple piece of apparel. My family doesn't understand but between my hakama and my Gi, there are memories, blood sweat and tears that brought me to the point I was some months ago. Its not a trophy, but a monument to growth of the mind and body. To Funny thing is that I remember someone posting to the aikido-l list long long ago, that the Gi its self and the hakama combined are merely rank indicators. I have to disagree, I remember watching everyone at the
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11-25-2003 05:17 PM 
