In Which I Consider Maintenance

In a blog post today, my dear friend Traveling Marla discusses the idea of being "high-maintenance." In the comments section, she let slip that she thinks of me as a "high-maintenance, confident" friend. I think she meant this as a compliment.

It's had me thinking all day. The thing is, I am incredibly lazy in most ways. I wash my hair once a week. I wear dresses because it takes the guesswork out of pairing separates. I pluck my eyebrows because I can't commit to a threading appointment. I got highlights in August for the first time in my life, because I've always known I won't keep up with coloring. And that's just the grooming.

I think that Marla may have been referring, at least in part, to exercise. Specifically, to the idea of exercise of which the purpose is becoming or staying physically attractive. We all know the type: women you see at the gym every single time you're there, all waxed and bronzed and highlighted, with sinewy muscles that haven't felt the sweet touch of gluten in years. I admire the resolve of these women, but I am not one of them.

I do exercise regularly, but not for the sake of vanity. I do it because I was raised by parents for whom physical activity was a given, so it was always something we simply did, much as we ate and bathed and my sister and I fought. I started dancing when I was four, and later took up cheerleading and track as well. I became accustomed to the satisfaction of exhausted muscles before I knew there was any other way to do it.

These days, I work out for my sanity. When I'm too sedentary, I get lethargic, moody, restless, easily offended, and start to eat terribly. This is such a distinct pattern that when I talk to my mother and get unreasonably irritable, she says, "Honey, are you getting enough exercise?" And every time I say, "No, I'm not." And that, really, is the crux of it. I work out so I can sleep at night, and so I don't bite the heads off of everyone I interact with in a day. That it means I don't have to worry as much about my carb-and-dairy-fat-heavy diet is another bonus.

Having said that, tonight I did absolutely nothing except eat an entire box of Amy's shells and cheddar. So.