PROMENADE

What's new on my schedule?

A walk first thing in the morning -- a stand straight, stand tall, head-high, stroll around my studio.

With JC.

We laugh, take hands and stroll (separately, if he gets up later than I do). But when he comes downstairs to his office, we take our promenade together.

Back in June I wrote "S S S"( a blog on 6/13, about sitting, standing straight). I was taking a good hard look at myself. After eight hours at my computer (sometimes more), I couldn't help noticing that I was slumping. Even after the hour that I devote to my barre/dance/exercise, my posture wasn't great. My chin wasn't high, my neck was tilted forward -- I looked tired.

Awareness of this galvanized me. . When I check (I don't like to check myself in the mirror too often) I do look better.

I WANT MORE.

I want an even taller, straighter, head high posture. I want that posture automatic, something I don't have to think about.

JC loves my quirky routines. Right now, he's in an actor's limbo -- offers on the table, scripts to read, possibilities but nothing definite. It's a little demoralizing -- each day he has to figure out what to focus on. As for "Em," having decided that Em is a columnist (see "Candy Jar," 9/23), not just a blogger among tweeters and bloggers, I'm doing okay as a writer.

Since we don't work to make money (never have) -- he works, I work to grow, learn, taste, experience something new -- we both need to tend to "morale."

The promenade helps. It's not an important exercise. It doesn't stretch our legs, or get even a small sweat going.

The path we travel is easy -- 15 feet down the inside hall to the entrance doors, , 30 feet from the doors to the other end of the studio where the big loudspeaker sits.

Then, holding hands, we square the corner -- it's just 25 feet from speaker to the skinny mirror. As we're approach it, we see the slender couple in the mirror and admire ourselves. We look ... well ... nice, handsome, sprightly, youngish, not at all thickset, mature.

We proceed 30 feet along the mirrored wall to the audience seats. After we square the corner, it's just 18 feet back to the hall.

He goes to his office, I go to mine.

Our promenade sets a mood -- exterior and interior, and somehow, once we get that tall, confident, head high feeling, we're able to sustain it -- almost throughout the day.

If I start to sag, or he does -- he'll call to me, or I'll call to him across the hall, and we do another walk-around.