the gym

Sometimes I think that maybe I’m a little dramatic. maybe. I dunno.

I have a gym membership to the YMCA. I’ve been a member of the Y for about 6 years, off and on, taking breaks for delivery of babies and the first few months after I have the baby for recovery time. And I love the Y. Let me tell you why – the biggest reason is because they have a child watch area and I know the ladies there. Miss Jean and Miss Dee are awesome. Even when I plop Ray down, get him involved in a toy, try to creep out and he still cries, they just shoo me away and tell me he’ll be fine. And he always is but it takes a few minutes and they take that time with him. Anyway, I go to the gym because they watch my kids so I can workout alone.

Daniel runs (I am not a runner, but he is, so more power to him). He usually wakes up a half hour earlier than normal and runs around our block and general area. He really gets a good workout and his heart rate up and I see that and think, “maybe I’m a little dramatic about this whole gym thing. Maybe I don’t really need the gym. After all, I do a lot of exercises on the floor and I don’t require a lot of equipment … and the boys aren’t that bad. Noah and Liam play downstairs with Legos quite nicely and Ray just crawls around …. maybe I don’t need the gym …”

So this morning, Ray woke up with a fever and I couldn’t take him to the child watch, so I thought, “I’ll just workout at home. I can do this. I have a yoga mat and an exercise ball. It should be fine”.

It was not fine. I NEED the gym. I am NOT dramatic. Because at the gym, I’ve never had to go into a bathroom while someone was pooping and change the toilet paper roll, mid workout. Also, at the gym, no one has ever crawled over to my head while I was in plank position and pulled at a piece of fuzzy hair falling out of my bun, then giggled with delight. And then pulled my hair really hard right after that. Never happens at the gym. Nobody at the gym poops their pants and then stands directly in front of the fan blowing on me. And nobody laughs while standing there blowing poop air into my face. I never have people crawling under me while in plank position or sitting on my mat when I get up and come back, or crawling on top of me while I’m doing scissors. That never happens at the gym. And while I’m cooling down at the gym, doing my stretches, nobody comes to show me their lego creations and while I’m distracted looking at legos, nobody has ever bit me hard on the toe.

I need the gym. And now I know exactly why.