Testing 1.... 2.... 3

So it's always interesting when I tell people what I do. Former (recovering) attorney? People tend to snicker and giggle. I don't blame them.

Part-time stay-(at home) in the car mom? Cause goodness knows.... I spent WAY more time in my car than I do at home. This one has to get here.. that one there.... which kid am I taking where again?

Contract resume writer? Now that one usually gets eyebrows raised. Really... you write resumes... from home. Isn't that a scam? Nope it's real. Been doing it for just over 5 years. I actually enjoy it a lot.

And my personal favorite... Martial Arts school owner, and instructor. Wait... WHAT? Yup. Best. Job. Ever.

We opened our little school in March of 2005 when I was a high red belt. For those of you who don't know, that is the last of the color belts in the Taekwon-Do rank system (and there are 9 degrees of black belt beyond that). I tested for 1st degree balack belt in 2005 in the fall. Then in 2007, I tested for 2nd degree black belt. I was supposed to wait 2 years but I wasn't in a rush... and you know the rest of the story.

So when my instructor told me to get ready because she was planning to test me in April, I threw up a little in my mouth with fear got down to business as soon as I could. Step One: Relearn ALL my patterns in a modified way so i could still teach them properly but I could actually do them in a way that I could manage. Step 2: Make less of me so that my poor foot didn't have to work QUITE so hard to hold so much of me up (joining MFP came in here). Step 3: Get out on the floor and train.

Now, most people who are better than math than I am might have realized I said I was supposed to wait two years... but somehow I managed to stretch it to 5. And I was REALLY okay with that. I wasn't in a rush. And to my way of thinking, rank isn't how I define myself. I'm way more than a belt. Trust me.

BUT... my instructor says "You're testing"... and then drops the bombshell... and by the way, someone high ranking may be here. Hope you like surprises.

I hate surprises. By the time Saturday night had rolled around, I had convinced my hubbie we needed to move to Canada. Like... now. Immediately. Or to be honest, I hadn't convinced HIM, but I had convinced myself that I had convinced him. (P.S. the Test was Saturday).

Sunday came and I was literally shaking with fear (which oddly enough doesn't burn any calories?) before my test. But my friends pushed me.. literally they PUSHED me out on the floor and I survived and succeeded. In front of an 8th Degree Senior Master. Who I adore and who flew in to surprise me. AND I WAS (especially because his wife and he kept posting things on facebook which were true but which led me to believe he couldn't possibly be coming....)

But I did it. And I passed. And I even got a couple of chuckles out of the test board (which I appreciated because lord knows if I have any talent at all, it's in funny). And although I choked a couple times, and although my technique... well... STINKS because of my balance issues, I passed. And I've never been prouder.

See, I haven't just lost 14 lbs on this journey. I got rid of some fear and faced my test board. The weight is over. I am now a 3rd degree black belt.