Thursday, January 18, 2007

Validation

I was part of the high-tech industry for over 10 years and I worked my butt off.

Nearing the end of my pregnancy, it was really hard to drag myself into work each day - I hated my job. Well, not all of it. I liked the people I worked with and I enjoyed using my brain when interesting problems arose. But for the most part, the work I was doing became more and more tedious... add to it the instability my company and the fact that I dreaded beginning the start-up/buy-out/layoff continuum all over again... well let's just say my job satisfaction had hit an all-time low.

But now!

Now, instead of monitoring fires hazards in supercomputers, or helping people download porn faster - I have a REAL JOB!!!

I get to help these bellies...



Turn into these babies...



This past Monday, I had my very first class of Prenatal Fitness clients over to my house for a reunion with their brand new babies! And now my prenatal clients are my POSTnatal clients! I have former moms-to-be in my Stroller Fitness and Mom & Baby Fitness classes!

How cool is that???

From these moms, I got many gifts and thank-you cards, but my most favourite was the email I got from the wife of a former co-worker, who came to me as a client:

I really wanted to say thanks... for the beautiful handmade gifts, the great classes, all the advice and helping me to have more confidence to squat and lunge this baby out! I was really quite nervous at the beginning of this pregnancy about being fit and having the endurance to get through labour. My fear was that I would not make it, have to have lots of medical interventions and go down a birth path that I don't want. After lots of thinking, reading and learning, I now realize that I may in fact go down a path that I don't want/hadn't planned but I'm okay with that because I feel like I've made the effort to work towards the kind of birth that I want for me, my husband and our baby. (okay - I'm welling up now!!).

When I walked into your class, I was a tad nervous of what was ahead. You were wearing your one of your Tri shirts and I had heard lots of rumours of "super fit Callie" from my hubby... Through all your classes though, you kept the class at a level that everyone could accomodate to and there was never any judgement for the level of energy you had or how far you pushed on any one day. I walked away from class each night feeling great. It was also my first "mommy" contact. Soooo great to be around other pregnant moms to gab about stuff that I am sure is not on the priority list of other non pregnant people. So I am glad that we ran into each other again. Even though I didn't really know you before, I do remember you as one of the "cool kids" at the Alcatel Xmas parties...

Anyhew, I was just on the website and there is no section for "what are people saying about Fit 4 Two?"... so I don't know where you want to keep this, but please feel free to use this email however you wish...

Here is the more official testimonial...

Going to Fit 4 Two classes during my pregnancy was a blessing. Both Callie's prenatal classes (Balls and Bands and Prenatal Fitness) gave me a safe and supported way to work out and meet other Moms. Callie creates an environment of non judgement and fun in her classes and genuinely cares about the participants. Even though there are (many) days where my energy levels were low during this pregnancy, I always felt re-energized at the end of class and great about what I had accomplished for me and the baby. I attended classes from early in my second trimester until my 39th week. Callie provided ways to modify exercises as I grew and changed so that I could participate as fully as possible and get a great workout at whatever stage I was in. I would recommend Callie's classes to anyone looking for an informative, fun and inspiring place to exercise during pregnancy!

Looking forward to sending out that birth announcement!!!



Talk about validation. These moms & babes are the better than any performance review I've ever had!

3 comments:

  1. Hooray -- you certainly are one of the cool kids, and now you've got the testimonial to prove it :)

    A thousand congratulations on finding (making!) yourself such a great job!

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  2. Congrats Callie! I have known how great you are for a long time but it sure takes a lot of validation before you allow yourself the luxury of admitting that you are fantastic at what you do. I have seen how hard you had to work to get here and I couldn't be happier for you! You are a great teacher, a great mom and a great friend!

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  3. oh, I wish you were here, and could get ME back on track. I could use a good stroller-pushing mommy-friendly class! I need more motion, more energy, more feelin' good. You sound great at what you do.

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