Liz and I tried out a fitness class that was a combination of weight training and yoga. During the weights portion, the instructor asked everyone to say two interesting facts about themselves.
When it came to my turn, I said, “I am from Washington, DC.”
“Oh! What are you doing here?” She responded. “You poor thing.”
I laughed (I get that a lot) then began the simple version of the story, “I married a man from Oklahoma...”
“My brother!” Liz chimed-in.
“...Yep! And he is in military training right now, to be an Army Ranger, so I’m staying with his family while he trains.”
“Well...” the instructor condescended, “That is an interesting fact about him. Not you.”
If you could have seen my inner-life at that moment, what you would have observed in the span of one deep breath is the elegant, dignified Christina, standing strong and smiling graciously with one arm stretched out to restrain the flailing, vicious “girl-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks” version of me who happened to be shouting, “Let me at that B*$#h’s hair!”
“Actually,” I said, “That was just answering the question ‘What are you doing here?’ The second interesting fact about me is that I have a green belt in Tae Kwon Do.”
