Let’s go back to the 1980’s.  I remember going through the toy section of a local store and seeing these brightly colored boxes that screamed, “Get in Shape, Girl!”  Remember those?  The brand is apparently making a comeback.  Anyway, after begging for one of these “exercise” kits, my parents finally relented and got me a set featuring two cheerleader pom poms, and a hula hoop.  Both were in the colors featured in the graphic. 

The hoop was in plastic sections and snapped together.  Poorly.  Whenever I would put it together and tried to hoop, it would fall apart.  I was crushed.

My dad, seeing my frustration, did something amazing.  He took that hoop and bolted the pieces together.  Dad was a pretty handy guy and saw a situation and fixed it.  Boom!  I now had an awesome hula hoop with a little extra weight that was awesome to spin with.

I used that hoop for years.  I’m wondering if it’s in Mom’s basement still.  I might go look for it. 

Little did I know that I would be hooping in my adult years, and the hours I spent with that old hoop on my waist would lay the foundation for my hooping now.