Shortly after Trophy Husband left for Egypt the Kid and I joined the YMCA. The membership is actually free because of TH's deployment. There is however one catch, we have to use the gym 8 times a month. That's only fair. It makes sense that the Army doesn't want to keep paying the bill if I'm sitting home on the couch watching Lost.
Eight times doesn't sound like a lot, but it can be hard to get done, especially when I can only get the kid to come once a week if I'm lucky. Back in September I was out of town twice and there was a holiday. And I was playing both volleyball and softball. We just made our eight trips that month and two of those were from me stopping at the gym on my way to something else and just swiping my membership card. December is shaping up to be September all over again. I haven't been out of town but it's been REALLY STINKIN' COLD lately, incase you hadn't noticed, and when it's 9 degrees outside all I want to do is hibernate. And there's that pesky holiday problem coming up again at the end of this week.
Monday of last week I hit the Y like I do on most Monday's (may as well, the day's already ruined, right?) except I went right after work instead of waiting until about an hour after dinner. The Y was pretty busy at that time but that's not what surprised me. I was surprised by the fact that two-thirds of the cardio machines (stationary bikes, treadmills and ellipticals) were occupied by kids who were clearly under the age of 10. Two of them did appear to be using the equipment for it's intended purpose but the other three were just doing what kids do, goofing off.
The Y's not a big place, but there were still a few machines open so I was able to get my workout done without strangling anyone's precocious little sprout. But seriously, what could these kids be "working off"? The Happy Meal they had at lunch? The stress of the day's big spelling test? The frustration of a playground altercation? I'm pretty sure these kids were only out on the exercise floor because the day care area is "for babies." The Kid is 15 and he does workout, sort of. When he's finished (or more appropriately, has quit) he sits down in the waiting area and watches TV until I'm ready to go. He doesn't play on the machines.
This is really unfair to the other members of the gym (if I were paying for it you can believe they'd be getting a phone call from me) and the staff who are put into the position of keeping an eye on these kids while they occupy the machines. Can you imagine being the 22 year old manning the front desk and being asked by a member to run little Johnny off of the elliptical because his mom is too absorbed in The Real Housewives of Orange County to take out her ear-buds and say something to him? Or God forbid, having to rescue one when he gets bucked off the treadmill. Come on people!
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