aerobics points

Really. My health insurance changed in January — now we have Blue Cross Blue Shield, which means that there are more than 3 doctors in Fayetteville that will accept my insurance. Hooray! BCBS has a program called “Blue Points,” in which one earns points for eating fruits and vegetables, taking online health courses, and engaging in physical activities. My fellow ORU grads might remember aerobic points, but for those of you who aren’t part of that select group, let me explain. At ORU, all students were required to take PE every semester. This wasn’t as bad as you’d think — we had many excellent PE classes. I took fencing and archery and horseback riding, which are all good stress releasers. In addition to the PE classes, we were expected to earn weekly aerobic points. In my day, we tracked these with bubble sheets like those used for multiple choice exams. (The school seeks to educate the whole person, mind, body, and spirit, so this is to take care of the body part. Nowadays, I’m especially appreciative of an integrated academic vision like this, but that’s another topic for another time).
So, here I am, years and years after college, earning aerobics points. I’ve been raking my yard for the last several days, which counts. And last week, I did yoga, with Miss Baby’s help, which makes it aerobic — you have to take breaks from stretching to chase her around the house and get your mat back.
If I earn enough points, I can get a bike. But there are lots of other prizes, like gift certificates for Macy’s or J.Jill. This is pretty cool, I think.