See Jane grow old...

This morning I got up at 5:05 a.m., put some running shoes on my feet and headed to the basement with one of Jane Fonda's two new workout DVDs in hand.

I'm reviewing both DVDs for the Chicago Sun-Times and will post the story when it's published.

As much as this morning was about doing freelance work, it was also very personal.

Jane is 72. In the workout I did this morning with her, she looks just amazing. It was especially striking to me, as my own mother, 10 years Jane's junior, was laying in a hospital bed after a surgery and a heart attack yesterday.

Jane has slowed down in her older years -- not in a fitness sense, by any means. Instead of the bouncy Jane Fonda aerobics tapes of 20 years ago (which just kicked my 20-something ass at the time), this Jane is all about getting her audience's heart rates up, a bit, but taking things slow, too. She talks about how exercise has been shown in studies to reduce the chances of developing Alzheimers as well as just improving brain function overall. She's very encouraging, telling us that it's never too late to be strong or fit. She even acknowledges that she's had a knee and a hip replaced, and mentions how to stretch accordingly without aggravating those parts of the body.

I am so happy to report that by midday, I'd learned that my mom had had an OK night, her vitals steady and the breathing tube since removed. But when I following Jane before the crack of dawn this morning, I couldn't help but wish that Jane could talk to my mom in that gentle, kind, supportive way she does on the DVD. My mother has been through hell, with three strokes including one last week, heart disease and multiple surgeries in the last few months.

I don't know what my mom's recovery will be like. But I look at Jane and feel some hope -- I'd love to see my mother regain some of her strength and be able to putter around, hit the bookstore, run over to Target, be able to grab her dogs by the collar and manage to get them in their kennels or outside or wherever they're supposed to be. I'd love to see some of the worry and fatigue leave my father's face. I'd love to see them laugh together. I want my amazing sister, who lives in the same town as my parents and has been by their sides and calls me constantly with updates, to be able to relax a bit and have some of the burden taken off her shoulders.

I'm so incredibly relieved to hear that my mom was awake and talking a bit this morning. I don't know what the future holds for her. But I want so desperately to believe Jane, and that everything is going to be OK.