Hi friends, Rebecca here. Have you moved across any bridges yet this month?? So far I’ve only gone across the small bridge at the pond in my neighbourhood, but I have to say I smiled to myself as I walked (not lunged) across it. Bridges transport us from one side of an obstacle to the other. They connect us between cities and provinces, over rivers, canals, train tracks, and roadways. Bridge month is one of my favourite NP Ottawa traditions. It carries us from one year into the next. I enjoy the defined space of a bridge, two ends and an in between, that during a workout results in countless fly-bys. They provide endless opportunities to smile or wave at those moving towards you, whether they are participating in the workout, or are on their way to work.
This is definitely one of the things that’s more difficult to recreate on zoom…but I think we’ve been doing a pretty good job so far. Last week’s partner workout was filled with lots of thumbs ups, enthusiastic waves and encouraging words shared between pairs and trios. If you workout near a window and waved to the neighbours that walked by, then you’ve basically reproduced it.
One of the things I miss in the virtual workout setting is getting to know random things about the people around me. Sometimes a conversation may begin because of an article of clothing someone is wearing. Perhaps a shirt has the name of a school, a hat has the logo of a sports team, or a buff has the name of a race on it, these little things can open up a whole conversation between two strangers who may be standing around waiting for a workout to start, or who may find themselves in a group together during it. This was the inspiration behind the This or That workout from a couple weeks ago. Maybe you were too focused on your mountain climbers to notice who else preferred the mountains, but it was nice to be reminded that there are a lot of interesting things we have in common. Un-Muting on Zoom can be awkward or nerve wracking, there’s that fear of “I’m going to be really loud when I’m doing burpees and then Zoom is going to take over my audio, and give me the highlighted square” (or is it only me who fears that??), but it’s so worth it to hear the laughs and cheers to start our Wednesday morning!
Amazing job to our guest leader Alex- this morning’s workout brought back wonderful bridge memories (including some major leg burns over zoom) and some learning about the unsurrendered Algonquin Territory that we have worked out on. One bridge we “crossed” this morning was the Adawe crossing. It’s an Algonquin term “to trade”, and is meant to be symbolic of the history of the Rideau River and the indigenous heritage of the area and the bridge’s ability to link the communities on either side. One additional fun fact- One NP morning during bridge month on the Adawe bridge was a snowday where “Snowday badge” was given out! So we’ve crossed that bridge with PILES of snow 🙂
Thanks for sharing your morning, your time, your energy with us. We’re glad you’re here!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Share your favourite #bridgemonth memories with us, and tag us in your photos as you cross bridges wherever you may be
- Read a blog from another city
- Have a great week!
