Another opportunity to support local businesses and get healthy (and embarrass your children!) in the process

Almost all of my adult life I've belonged to a gym.  I mostly gravitate to your basic sweats and t-shirt type gyms.  I've never been one for snooty upscale places where people prance around in spandex looking like Barbie and Ken posers.  Those of you who know me know I'm not, ahem, built for spandex.  That would be pretty scary.  So, when I moved back to my hometown about 10 years ago I searched for a new gym, finally settling on Twin Valley YMCA, which was just actually opening up.  And in the years to follow, I enjoyed many of their group classes, cardio machines, and weights.  The staff was always friendly and as a bonus they had free babysitting.  This all came to a screeching halt last October when they announced they were closing...now what???

So in the months that followed, I checked out numerous other gyms, not finding what I was looking for.  And then I saw something on a friend's facebook announcing the upcoming opening of a new gym, Twin Valley Family Fitness, that was taking over the space formerly occupied by the Y.  OK, I'll give it a whirl.  Well, it has been everything the Y was, and then some...a LOT some!  The first thing that really impressed me was their family friendly atmosphere. Yes, there is still free babysitting, but now children 8 and older are welcome to use the cardio equipment and take group classes with a parent.  How better to encourage a healthy lifestyle from early on!  Now, I know this might not appeal to some people, but maybe these people are better off at the spandex-laden places.  I now get to exercise side by side with my kids, feeling comfortable in my t-shirt and sweats, embarrassing the heck out of my daughter with my lame attempts to shake it in zumba.  HA!  I'm sure when she's 40-something, she'll have a blast embarrassing her own kids!

And to say that they are community-minded is a bit of an understatement.  They are constantly promoting local businesses and sponsoring programs at the local school and at other places in the area.  My absolute favorite thing is that they have started allowing members to get deliveries from The Doorstep Dairy.  Anyone my age remember the milkman from your childhood???  That is exactly what the Doorstep Dairy is, and then some. I had looked into this service when it first started a few years ago, but unfortunately I live out in the middle of nowhere, and while it's nice to not have to worry about pesky neighbors seeing me in my pj's walking my dog in the morning, we give up luxuries such as food delivered to our door. (My kids have NO CLUE what pizza delivery is!  They are always reminding me how deprived they are.  They'll probably need therapy for life.  Can you tell how sorry I feel for them?)

So anyway, now I can get my fresh from a local farm milk delivered (complete with glass bottles!) right to the gym!  They also have a plethora of other local products they deliver, from coffee, to cage free chicken eggs, to cheese, to fresh produce (and much, much more!).  And, because it's delivered to the gym, it assures that I get my lazy butt there to work out!  Win, win.

This is just one more example of local businesses working together to benefit not only themselves, but the community at large.  Thank You Twin Valley Family Fitness and Doorstep Dairy for helping me and my family live a more healthy lifestyle, not only by providing a family friendly, non-intimidating place to work out but also by giving me the opportunity to buy fresh, organic, local products year-round.  (while providing continued opportunities to embarrass my daughter with my sleek zumba moves!  BONUS!)  (Better start saving for that therapy, hehe!)