Metamorphosis
I'm pining for the gym again. It's odd when I really think about it. There once was a point in my life where I hated going to gyms. At the beginning of my marriage Terence was a stalwart member of 24 Hour Fitness. I couldn't see the point of it. In fact, I often got frustrated because it seemed like my new husband would far rather spend hours at the gym than spend time with me. I think I went once on a guest pass and loathed every second of it.
Times change, don't they?
I tentatively tried it out again when J was a baby. At that time we were living in an apartment complex that had an arrangement with a nearby gym for passes that any one in the complex could use. You'd go into the office, check out a pass, and turn it in at the gym (who would collect them and return them to the apartment office at the end of the day). I was desperate to get exercise at that point. (Having kids does that to you a bit.) It was horribly tricky though-- for one, you had to call at least a day ahead and schedule a time at the day care if you were bringing a baby. Also, you had to pay per hour per kid, even if you got no more than ten minutes of working out because your baby wouldn't stop crying. So it could get expensive fast even if you weren't getting anything out of it. Needless to say, it didn't endear me to the concept of gyms much.
When we moved into our current house, Terence begged to get a gym membership again. In Sanders that hadn't been an option, and Terence had spent a small fortune to buy a weight bench and lots of weights. But here in the valley we didn't have the room inside for the bench, and outside it was too hot to use it like six months of the year. In the end I reluctantly agreed that we could find a way to carve the money for a membership at the YMCA. This time I insisted on a family membership. Not so much because I thought I was going to turn into a gym rat myself, but because I wanted to put M into their preschool.
Still, if you've got a membership, why not use it?
It took a little while to grow on me then. B was only just barely past a year, and she would get horrible separation anxiety. I used to get maybe 15 minutes in before the childcare ladies would come and get me. Not fun. But I persevered and eventually B got used to it. But still, I didn't feel like it was the end of the world when I had sick kids or I got pregnant and couldn't go. (I'm not a pregnant exerciser-- high risk pregnancies do that to you.) By the time K came along and I decided to train for my first triathlon though, the gym was a necessity. I couldn't get my swim training in without it. It became a regular beloved part of my routine. Not because I love exercising in and of itself, but I love the window of child-free time and the endorphins and how I feel afterward-- like I have energy to tackle my day.
But since I had S it's been really hard to go consistently. Actually the last six months have probably been the worst. For various reasons, I think I've made it maybe four times a month. Someone is always getting sick. I still get in exercise every day in one way or another (no way am I skipping that) but I miss my regular visit with the cardio equipment and the weights and the pool. I miss it so much that it drives me slightly batty.
What kind of creature have I turned into???
Times change, don't they?
I tentatively tried it out again when J was a baby. At that time we were living in an apartment complex that had an arrangement with a nearby gym for passes that any one in the complex could use. You'd go into the office, check out a pass, and turn it in at the gym (who would collect them and return them to the apartment office at the end of the day). I was desperate to get exercise at that point. (Having kids does that to you a bit.) It was horribly tricky though-- for one, you had to call at least a day ahead and schedule a time at the day care if you were bringing a baby. Also, you had to pay per hour per kid, even if you got no more than ten minutes of working out because your baby wouldn't stop crying. So it could get expensive fast even if you weren't getting anything out of it. Needless to say, it didn't endear me to the concept of gyms much.
When we moved into our current house, Terence begged to get a gym membership again. In Sanders that hadn't been an option, and Terence had spent a small fortune to buy a weight bench and lots of weights. But here in the valley we didn't have the room inside for the bench, and outside it was too hot to use it like six months of the year. In the end I reluctantly agreed that we could find a way to carve the money for a membership at the YMCA. This time I insisted on a family membership. Not so much because I thought I was going to turn into a gym rat myself, but because I wanted to put M into their preschool.
Still, if you've got a membership, why not use it?
It took a little while to grow on me then. B was only just barely past a year, and she would get horrible separation anxiety. I used to get maybe 15 minutes in before the childcare ladies would come and get me. Not fun. But I persevered and eventually B got used to it. But still, I didn't feel like it was the end of the world when I had sick kids or I got pregnant and couldn't go. (I'm not a pregnant exerciser-- high risk pregnancies do that to you.) By the time K came along and I decided to train for my first triathlon though, the gym was a necessity. I couldn't get my swim training in without it. It became a regular beloved part of my routine. Not because I love exercising in and of itself, but I love the window of child-free time and the endorphins and how I feel afterward-- like I have energy to tackle my day.
But since I had S it's been really hard to go consistently. Actually the last six months have probably been the worst. For various reasons, I think I've made it maybe four times a month. Someone is always getting sick. I still get in exercise every day in one way or another (no way am I skipping that) but I miss my regular visit with the cardio equipment and the weights and the pool. I miss it so much that it drives me slightly batty.
What kind of creature have I turned into???
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