Review of the YMCA at Norton Commons in Louisville, KY
Before kids, ME time was never a problem… to the point of, now that I think about it, the term didn’t even exist in my vocabulary. Now three kiddos later, sometimes I would like some time just for me – this does not include the time I spend hiding in the bathroom at random intervals during the day because even there, they will find me and try to either have a conversation or decide that’s it a good time to declare war on each other.
I would also, on occasion, like to have command of the remote control. There’s only so much Caillou I can watch without starting to need some mind numbing adult humor. Moreover I, over the course of 7 years and 3 children, have less “stuff” and more “fluff.” In my efforts to lose extra weight, I’ve learned working out at home ends up just being frustrating since I spend most of the time telling one kid not to lift ten pound weights over his head, another kid not to jump on my exercise ball because didn’t you just bust your mouth 2 seconds ago doing that very same thing!!!! and explaining to my toddler why he and mommy CANNOT be on the treadmill at the same time.
Enter the saving grace I found: The YMCA at Norton Commons!!!! I love this place with every single slowly shrinking ounce of me. First of all, they have a kids club where I can sign in my kiddos (they allow 6 weeks and up) for up to three hours. During that time, they have outdoor play, different supervised and themed adventures, and social time that they love! Then I can work out in peace on any of their state of the art cardio equipment (and most of them have TVs to plug my headphones in so I can watch Golden Girls.) After my workout, I get the kids and sometimes we go to their indoor splash pool, which they LOVE, before heading home.
Then after dinner, we go back with Dad in tow, the kids go to the kids club again (which they love), and Hubby and I get an hour “mini-date” while we workout together and try to make each other laugh while we’re using the weight machines – it’s just what we do.
I haven’t tried any of the classes yet, but they offer family Zumba and family yoga over the weekends, they have time for strollers and younger kids on their indoor track, as well as parent’s night out programs, just about the sweetest staff I’ve ever had the pleasure of dealing with and I’m only scratching the surface of what they have to offer. It’s a win-win for the whole family because I get recharged and then am able and focused enough to sort out intense drama – like who is looking at whom and who touched whom first. Seriously, you need energy for that stuff.
By guest contributor: Dana
