(this is annie)

After watching the new Madonna video, all I could think is, "Ugh, I have got to go to a gym." The woman is 20 years my senior, and she could probably knock me down just by flicking her pinky at me. Strong woman. Still, there's something sad about Madonna's claim that she works out for three hours a day. It's not that I don't believe her; it's that she's one of the world's most powerful women outside of government, she's dripping with money, she can do whatever she wants to, and yet she spends an eighth of her day exercising. Were I in her position, I would not do this, but maybe she likes it.

Lately I'm worried that I should be exercising more. My doctor says my blood pressure is "below normal," which makes me think it's only a matter of time before my heart stops completely. Which, of course, it is, but I'd hoped to have at least four more decades before that happens. And I could really do without people telling me that I have "meat on my bones," which then makes me think that I look doughy or something.

I feel OK with my body for the most part, and I feel healthy, so what reason is there to go to a gym? Even if I did wind up looking cut like Madonna, I wouldn't really get credit for it because I'm not pushing 50. My plan, instead, is to start working out around age 45, so then people will marvel at my flexibility. I'll be like Jean Brodie, a woman in her prime.