January 2016

I will never forget that day. It was March 2009 and I was standing in the empty living room of the home I had just rented, crying to break my heart. I remember saying to my Mom, who was trying to comfort me, “What have I done?”.

My marriage was over and was moving out of our marital home into this rental. At the time I wasn’t thinking about the neighborhood, the school my son was going to eventually attend, all I was thinking is I needed a place to live.

At that moment suddenly the magnitude of what was happening in my life came crashing down around me and all I could worry about was how was I going to do this all on my own. It wasn’t just me now, I had a 6 month old to take care of too.

I look back at the day and can happily say that given the circumstances, moving into that home was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.

It’s now almost 7 years later and we could not ask for a better community to live in. We are blessed to be part of a community that has that small town feel. People see my silly posts on Facebook wishing Timmy’s had a delivery service and bring me a coffee on a cold Sunday morning, a fellow parent sees that my son has spilled his soup on himself at school and goes home and brings him dry clothes knowing I am at work and unable to get to him right away, friends will let me drop my son off to them the few times I have to go into work early so I don’t have pay for daycare. People genuinely care about each other and help each other out when in need.

Most recently, we have seen the amazing results of parents working together to bring even more of that small town feel to our community in building an outdoor skating rink in our local park. It has been an instant hit. Everyday I drive by it is filled with kids skating, playing hockey and ringette and parents watching and laughing with each other. Every time we’ve gone, there are no worries if anyone can’t skate well or is nervous on the ice, it is the most welcoming place for kids to learn and play. So many parents have commented how much the kids want to be there and are happy to put down their iPads, and gaming systems to come out and skate. In this day and age and especially in the winter, this is remarkable. This spot has become such at hit that yesterday, it was the focus of a report on Channel 12 CHEX TV Durham.

So when I hear the phrase “It takes a village”, a smile comes to my face. From a dark and dreary place in my life, I was lucky enough to find my “village”.

Thanks,

Are you like me and normally by the 1^st of February, any resolution you have made has fallen so far to the wayside, you don’t even remember making the resolution in the first place? Year after year I pledge to eat better and work out on a regular basis and year after year within a few weeks, I am off the wagon again.

This year, I might actually keep at least keep at least one of my resolutions.

First Step: Made the decision to get a gym membership.

Second Step: Find a gym that fits my needs and budget.

Not going to lie, I can come up with pretty much any excuse to keep my butt planted on that couch and not go to the gym. I have always been able to convince myself that on the days that I have my son that I have a legitimate excuse not to go to the gym. I am not about to hire a babysitter just to go to the gym. But when I have 5 day stretches with him that is a pretty long time to not exercise and totally gets me out of routine.

I know that some gyms have childcare options but I wanted something where he would enjoy going as well. I knew that if he wasn’t enjoying being there, I would once again use it as an excuse not to go.

So in looking at gyms some gyms in the area, one the popped out was The Abilities Centre in south Whitby. The first thing that peaked my interest was the wide range of classes/activities available not only for myself but for my son as well. (Needs portion now met.)

Being a single Mom, I really need to be frugal and make the most about what I spend my money on. Memberships cost money and obviously I need to be able to justify spending that kind of money each month. When looking at what they had to offer, I was pretty much sold for myself. For my son, it was a bit of a different story. The programming that they have for him looked amazing, but when he is with me only 1/2 the time, paying for a full membership was a bit hard to justify.

I decided to contact them and explain my situation. The people that I dealt with were amazing! They were sympathetic to my situation and understood my concerns. I was treated like a human being and not just another membership fee to them. That is definitely hard to come by these days. They referred me to their Ron Halliday Membership Assistance Program, which helps determine a reasonable fee based on your financial status. Within a day or so of submitting my application, I was thrilled to receive notification they would be offering me and my son memberships at a rate I could happily afford. (Budget portion met!)

Third Step: Join gym and start going!

I have to admit when I first walked into the facility, it was a bit intimating. This 125,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, fully accessible facility was not like any other gym I had been to before. I knew it had been used for the Parapan Am games in 2015 and had driven by it a million times but hadn’t realized how big and expansive the facility was.

My initial intimidation was quickly diminished by the staff members there. Everyone is so warm and welcoming and although we have only been members for a short time now we are made to feel like we have been members since day 1. This is definitely something that I have not experienced with previous gym memberships.

So now with no excuses readily available, I might just have a chance at keeping this New Years Resolution.

The Abilities Centre is located at 55 Gordon St., Whitby, ON

Thanks,

Month: January 2016

It takes a village.

A New Year, a new set of resolutions.