My gym is closing permanently today. Forever. No more of my gym. Here are five things I'll miss about my gym.
1. I participated in a small group training class twice a week. I'll miss the encouragement of the other ladies in our small group. We cheered for each other to finish difficult exercises, or to pick up a heavier kettle bell weight. I'll miss those ladies, and talking with them every Tuesday and Thursday.
2. My gym was for ladies only. I hardly ever had to wait for a machine or set of weights that I wanted to use. Some of the weight machines that showed diagrams of the muscles worked by the particular exercise had long hair drawn on the clearly male diagrams to make them look more feminine. The diagrams with the ladies' good hair drawn on them always made me smile. We're just ladies living in a muscle-man's world, but with a Sharpie, we can make it look like a muscle-lady diagram.
3. I was a member of this gym off and on for over twelve years. I will miss this haven of happy brain chemicals that exercise induced. If I had a bad day, or had trouble focusing, I could usually correct the situation with time on the elliptical machines or a Zumba class. After my dad died suddenly and unexpectedly ten years ago, I worked out some of my grief at this gym, sometimes quietly crying on the elliptical machine, trying to find my will to keep moving.
4. I'll miss the gym's motto: "no makeup, no problem, no men." I realize this is a sexist/genderist statement, but it sold more than a few memberships.
5. I'll miss the convenience of going to a gym that shared a shopping center with a post office, library, Snap healthy kitchen and my favorite HEB grocery store in town. It was so convenient to park once, and do every errand.
Bonus thing I'll miss: approximately seven more months on my fully paid annual membership. The group that owns the gym says refunds are being issued as funds become available, but I'm not holding my breath.
I will find another gym and/or another small group training class. It will be good to meet new people. It will be good to break out of my routine. If I keep saying these things, I will maybe start to believe it, and maybe make it happen.
Premiere Lady Fitness, you will be missed. Sorely.
