Categories
Family Legacy Love

A Love Story

The Empire State Building, New York, NY

The Empire State Building has been a part of my love story for my entire life.

For as long as I can remember back, my father’s company was a tenant in the Empire State Building. I had a love affair with that tenant’s observatory pass… Sweet talking it away from my dad’s assistant, to whisk myself through the lines and up to the observation decks to watch over my city, from my building- the Empire State Building.

From my childhood bedroom window, I could see the city, my building, front and center. I would gaze at the sparkling lights as I fell asleep on clear nights.

Over the years as I grew and traveled, the one landmarks that always said “you’re home”… when I would catch it on the horizon…. the Empire State Building, my building.

Mr. Right made his way into my heart at the ripe age of nineteen. We were sophomores in college, ready to take on the world together. We were engaged in 1997, married in 1998, at the age of 25.

Our wedding reception had to include my building… but how? My mom found a venue, The Newark club, atop the Seton Hall Law building, in Newark, New Jersey. We went to see it. The elevator doors opened, we rounded the corner, and there was my building… the Empire State Building. That was the place we would celebrate the beginning of our life together… With my building twinkling on the horizon, in her full glory…. watching over us as we danced.

October 24, 1998 ~ Nutley, New Jersey

In 2018, Rich and I will Celebrate 20 years of marriage. We have four beautiful children. Over our two decades of marriage we have dealt with medical issues, an armed robbery, in which my original engagement ring was stolen from me at gun point, and all of the regular stuff married couples deal with, from year to year… and he’s still that same sparkly-eyed nineteen-year-old boy I met in that Rutgers Fraternity house… and I’m still that giggling nineteen-year-old girl looking up at him in wonder.

20 year Vow Renewal ~ 2018 ~ The Empire State Building

But now I wonder, how did we get here? How is it we are the grown-ups?

Our eyes have seen so much, our hearts have felt so much. Buildings have fallen, loved ones have perished. Babies were born. Scars were made. We have celebrated, we have mourned, and we have aged. We have learned to live in the moment.

When I look over my shoulder, two constants that comfort me… that are always there…. my husband, and my Empire State Building. ❤

By Laurie Trezza

A Registered Nurse, turned Personal Trainer, with a specialization in corrective exercise, I bring a unique perspective to the world of fitness. I have journeyed through joint replacement, weight loss and other obstacles, all of these experiences shape the trainer I am today.

This concept was created out of a love and appreciation for movement. I'm sure you have heard the cliché, "You don't know what you've got 'till it's gone!" I kind of experienced that in reverse.... Let me explain...

As a little girl I truly despised running and moving quickly- any game that required speed and agility was just not for me. I gravitated to slower, low impact activities- movement was really just the worst. Why? My knees hurt after a short time of running or jumping. No one really knew what to tell me, they'd shrug it off and run away. I was just "no good" at sports. Despite my lack of fast motion, I did remain pretty active.... but those knees!

As I got into my college years, I finally went to a specialist. He refused to even image my knees. I was "too young" for any type of issue he said. "Take an anti-inflammatory, get some more exercise and ice afterwards. You'll be fine." he continued. That was not what I had been hoping to hear. Maybe I was oversensitive. Oh well.

I graduated from college, got my first job as a Registered Nurse on a busy telemetry unit in a large teaching hospital in the NYC metro area. I got married, a few years later had my first baby, then my second.... then number three (oh, and bonus! it was twins!!!!) Still... those knees.... worse, worse, and worse....

The final straw- at a party, I met another mom, also carrying twins, as we chatted about all things twin pregnancy related, she squatted down to the coffee table below us to retrieve a snack.... Whoa!!!! Her baby-filled belly was even larger than mine (she was further along than I was) and she got up and down like she was an American Ninja Warrior! There was no WAY I could do that with my knees!

Once the babies were born, and life was humming along at a relatively normal-insane pace, I found another orthopedist. He listened, imaged, and found that indeed, my knees were a disaster. For a number of years we played with all types of treatments to prolong the inevitable... total knee replacements.

The year I turned 40, I was given one of the best gifts ever... a pair of titanium and polyethylene prosthetic knees! The surgery was difficult and painful to recover from, but the results were truly life altering.

Since recovering from my total knee replacements (TKR's), I have re-discovered exercise and movement again. It does NOT have to hurt. Exercise and movement does not need to be high impact and harmful to your joints to be effective in changing your body composition and changing how you feel. Exercise and movement absolutely must be, a part of your life to keep you fit both physically and mentally.

Newton's law of physics... "A body in motion STAYS in motion."

I had no idea how impactful motion would be on my life, until I could move without pain. It has made such an incredible change for me, I decide to make it my livelihood.

I've tied my nursing background in with my life experience with joint replacement, and looped that with a certification in personal training and specialization in corrective exercise. I am focusing this work to help others like me- who may be struggling to regain motion and emotional control after a difficult surgery or other life-altering situation.

Physical activity is the most under-utilized antidepressant out there, and in my observations, it seems we have a society that is more depressed than ever. Focusing on movement to better the body, mind, and spirit, that's what my work is about.

Grab YOUR OpportuKNEEty and SHINE!