Physically
Today my abdominal, glutial, bicep and shoulder muscles hurt. Also the scratches on left arm and behind my right knee. Both scratches are from the new catch bar. I acted like nothing was going on while replacing the old with the new but it was scary! Holding on for dear life tears at you.
Mentally
It's as different as it is the same at the trapeze. New location, new students, staff changes. Working on Comic-Con weekend, only the people who don't like comic books were there. The students were a combination of people who beat themselves up, succeed in spite of themselves, and those who go with the flow. There was also a woman from another school - always fun to see. The pain comes from the various coaching methods, some of which use negative reinforcement. My personal belief is that you get the same results if you're nice so why not be nice?
Emotionally
Jake's birthday is on Tuesday and it will be painful. It would have been his 20th. He had so much promise, so much love and so much life. He was better than I am at everything (love, life, trapeze). I was just a little bit better at surfing but he had plenty of time to get better than me. Until he died young. His buddy Chris seems to be a lot like him and I'm embarrassed to say that I've been keeping him at arm's length because it just hurts so much. To be reminded of Jake, to worry for another young throwing everything away. But, to his credit, the kid is talented, kind and lovable.
So I'll get a little closer because trapeze hurts. And that's not really an excuse to stop.
