Feb 2, 2015 3 min read

I decided not to watch the halftime show during Sunday night’s big game. Instead, I took a brisk walk on the treadmill. The plan was I could walk off some of the extra calories I consumed over the weekend while snowed in. Ok, I wasn’t actually “snowed in,” nor was I in need of devouring extra calories, but that is the back story, and I’m sticking to it.

At any rate, as soon as the announcers said the second quarter ended, I jumped up and dashed upstairs (read: plodded slowly) to the treadmill. My son, dressed only in his little boy underwear, socks and sneakers, followed. He planned to walk with me – on the treadmill, at the same time.

After convincing him of the dangers of that activity, he pulled up a chair to watch me walk instead. He was going to keep me motivated, he said. When he finally looked up from the book he was reading, his only words were that I was sweaty and gross. Really. That was his pep talk. (It was surprisingly effectual.)

About the same time, my daughter yelled from downstairs to ask me whether Cinna, Katniss Everdeen’s stylist in the “Hunger Games” films, was singing with Katy Perry.

Having heard Lenny Kravitz was scheduled to appear, I confirmed it was the singer who portrayed the stylist. I admit, I rolled my eyes pretty hard while saying it, having difficulty believing she never heard any of Kravitz’s music before.

By the way, this means I have to YouTube him for her, a common phenomenon in our house. Any time my hubby and I make a lyrical or musical reference the kids don’t get, we pull up a video as proof we haven’t made it up.

It’s fun for us to relive our musical tastes, as well as seeing their incredulity at the fashions of our childhood.

Then, I called my sister to get an actual pep talk for remaining on the treadmill for the full 30 minutes I expected the 15-minute halftime show to last. After saying hello, her next words were, “Is she riding a mechanical lion?” I can only imagine she was either referring to some antic on television or hosting the Super Bowl party of the century!

When she finally told me the game was coming back on, I was pleased to see I walked for more than 29 minutes. I was back on track with my allotted calories for the day.

I inspired my son to walk for an equal amount of time, and I avoided watching what is typically a huge disappointment to me. Besides, between my daughter and sister, I had a pretty decent mental image anyway.

But if avoiding disappointment was my plan, I should have watched Katy, Lenny and Missy perform and walked during the second half instead. I’m not sore from the brisk walk, but I’m still stinging from the final seconds of the game.

Laura Zoeller can be reached at zoeller5@verizon.net.