The "Y" according to Miss E...

Well, today was the first attempt to make good on the new "Y" membership. I looked at the schedule and found a Cardio Sculpt class at 10:15 and found out the pool had open swim time in the small pool from 9-11. Perfect!

Last night I packed swim suits, towels, shampoo, brush, extra clothes, detangling hairspray, and whatever else seemed like a good thing to have a the gym and/or pool and I was ready to go. R got off fairly easily this morning -- after a few tears about missing out on the visit to the "Y" and about the fact that she didn't have the change from yesterday's $5 bill for lunch (lunch is $2.25 and I could not convince her that her teacher would still have the money if she took the $5 from R yesterday!). I finally sent her off with additional money but with instructions that she needed to first ask the teacher about her "missing" change.

As soon as R was on the bus I herded the other two into the car and we were off to the "Y"! First stop - mug shot. I had to get my official membership card. In my haste to leave the house I had showered but didn't bother to "fix" my hair since our first stop was the pool, so the picture could have been better but what do I care - seriously? It's not like I'm hoping to get a hot date through match.baggage match.com using that, or any, picture. And, honestly, it will be a closer representation to my true self at the club - well, minus the sweat stains and the flushed cheeks - and make it easier for the childcare staff to find me in a line-up yoga class.

Once that task was completed and I was officially signed in I led the girls to the locker room to change into swim gear and shower off before heading for the pool. We had a nice 1/2 hour swim time in a very warm (average temp is listed at 92 degrees!) pool that is 3 feet deep at one end and 4 feet at the other. It's the pool where A will have her swimming lessons and where some of the water aerobics classes take place. The girls loved playing in the water and I loved that they have water toys and floatation devices available for general use...not that E would have anything to do with having floaties strapped to her chest, but that's another matter.

We got out of the pool in plenty of time for me to get us all changed and ready to go to the childcare room to scope things out before my 10:15 class. Once in the room, both A and E began exploring and I filled out the necessary paperwork and got them signed in. I thought it was a lucky thing that they were doing some outdoor play on the playground when we arrived because I figured both A and E would enjoy the equipment and sandbox. So, I led them outside to where the other kids were playing and quietly made my exit. I was looking forward to my hour of kid-free exercise time.

Ha.

I think I need to have Miss E listen to more of the Village People because she was not too thrilled once she realized that mom was nowhere to be seen. I had enough time to take a drink of water from my bottle and set up my area the same way the teacher had her stuff set up - step on an incline, exercise ball, and 3- and 5-pound weights. As soon as she announced the start of warm-up ("Let's march it out") a head poked in the doorway to call me back to the childcare room which was right across the hall.

Sigh.

I go back to find E a complete wreck screaming as if they had been trying to pull her fingernails out one by one. She stopped immediately when she saw me and proceeded to have that labored, hiccough-y breathing for the next few minutes. She was having NO part of this childcare gig and she did not feel that it was "fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A"! The staff reported that A had done her best to comfort E and make her feel more at ease (she is such a sweet and sensitive big sister and it made my heart swell to hear how she had tried her best to calm E down). I tried to get E interested in the sandbox, chalk, the big balls...anything. But, as soon as I was out of sight she had a complete and utter meltdown. I brought her back inside and tried snack but every time I moved away to check out something in the room she fell apart. I ended up staying in the childcare area with her for about 45 minutes hoping that she would start to feel more comfortable. She did do some exploring towards the end but she was not OK if I was more than 3 feet away. A, on the other hand, had a ball and when I announced it was time to go she was upset but she fell in line and went over to say good-bye to her "three new friends" and I promised we'd be back again to play soon.

I am going to have to take it slow with E. She is not going to fall easily into this situation as I had hoped. I don't recall having huge separation anxiety issues with R and A. Perhaps they did at around this age (22 months) but I don't recall it being severe or long-lasting. Either that, or childbirth and dealing with young children 24/7 for the last 7.5 years has completely messed with my memory and recall abilities and I am just unable to dredge those thoughts from the recesses of my cobwebby brain. Either way, I'm going to have to find a way to deal with this and hope that a few more sessions of playtime with mommy at the "Y" will make E realize that the staff and kids in the childcare are not going to bite, that the toys and the play area are actually a fun treat and that mommy doesn't just disappear - she will return sooner or later looking much the same as she did when she left...only sweatier and more flushed.

It's Fun to Stay at the Y-M-C-A!

Sing it with me now...

Young man, there's no need to feel down.
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.
I said, young man, 'cause you're in a new town
There's no need to be unhappy.
Young man, there's a place you can go
I said, young man, when you're short on your dough.
You can stay there, and I'm sure you will find
Many ways to have a good time.
It's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.
It's fun to stay at the y-m-c-a.

(Village People)

Today I took the leap and paid for a membership to the local Y! Actually, I signed up the girls for swim classes and in doing so realized that the cost differential to becoming a member and getting membership rates for the swim classes differed by not a whole lot. So, we are now proud, card-carrying, sweatband-wearing members of the YMCA!

Hmmm....

I guess that means I should actually USE said card to get my butt in gear this fall and achieve the results that have been eluding me this summer. I have been backsliding over the course of the last few months to the tune of about 5 pounds. I also know my fitness level has dropped off since May because I have not kept up with the sculpting and aerobic sessions. I have been walking quite a bit some weeks but not so much on other weeks. I am still fitting, mostly, in my clothes but they do feel a bit more snug than they did back in May. And I just don't feel as good as I did back in the spring.

Time to get back on track. Hopefully, the new gym membership will be a good way to get some of that motivation back that I had at the start of the new year. I am going to try to walk in the mornings, per usual, with Lauri and then at least a couple of times a week I hope to hit the gym while R and A are at school. E can come along and spend some play time at the FREE childcare center (what a bonus!). I need to look over the classes schedules and see if any will fit the bill - they have a ton of different styles of workouts which is great. I think having a scheduled class time will help with the follow through and it will be more fun working out with other people rather that in front of the TV screen.

While we were there today getting signed up (which was not a straight-forward process due to the fact that I did not bring a canceled check to sign up for the automatic checking transfer payment method....) we got a tour of the facility and it seems great! Aside from the (free!) childcare rooms, they also have a raquetball court, two studios for fitness classes, two pools, and the usual exercise room with weight machines and various cardio machines. There were plenty of machines and I imagine I won't be waiting to use any of them if I go during weekday mornings. And in the "over 18" locker rooms they also have a sauna and hot tub. Once I get the kids safely checked into child care rooms I can utilize those facilities as well. I might have to visit there more often for some basic R&R as part of my "(mental) health and fitness" regime....

As for the main reason for getting the membership...the swim classes! I had hoped to sign R and A up for classes on the same day at the same time if at all possible. Even back-to-back sessions on the same day would have been okay. However, I was so late in signing up that I ended up with A in a Wednesday afternoon session and R in a Saturday morning session. Sigh. It will be a hectic eight weeks -- but it is only eight weeks -- and perhaps for the second fall session I'll be lucky enough to consolidate their classes into one trip.

Between swim classes and exercise classes, I have a feeling that the Y is going to start to feel like my second home...at least I'll be getting my money's worth!