Farewell Little Gym

I’m feeling a little sad today, so I’m going to try and blog this one out.  Forgive me as I use you as my therapy.

About 18 months ago I was looking for an activity to do with Greenleigh over the weekends.  I wasn’t sure what exactly, I just wanted to get out of the house and do something fun – after all, sleeping in was a thing of the past.  In my search I happened to find The Little Gym, which offered a free introductory class.  I figured, what could it hurt?  I didn’t really think my 13 month old could do gymnastics, but why not try it out.  It’s free, right?  Turned out to be one of the best decisions I could have made.

During our first class I was overwhelmed by how friendly everyone was.  I knew we had found a home when the instructor, Mr. Herby, told me to let Greenleigh explore on her own.  I had been trying to get her to sit with me and it probably looked a lot more like wrangling a 22 pound bag of snakes than mommy and me time.  Once “released” she was much happier and really seemed to enjoy the program.  The class fed her desire for independence, but gave her the comfort of knowing I was nearby.  Forty five minutes went by all to quickly.  Needless to say, I signed Greenleigh up for the summer session and left with excitement for our next class.  A week later, I was able to convince Erajh to come with us and before we knew it, going to The Little Gym on Saturday mornings became a family ritual.

In the "Birds" Class, 2010

As the weeks went on, we made friends with the other families in the class.  We occasionally socialized with them outside of the gym.  We invited kids in the class to Greenleigh’s birthday parties, which, coincidentally were also at The Little Gym.  We watched each other’s kids grow and attempted to help other parents with advice and supportive words if they were going through a rough phase.  We teased and joked about the funny things our kids said and did.  We became a family.  The gym was our meeting place to come together each week.

Our Little Gym family shared in the joy of my pregnancy with Hazeline and her birth this past March.  News of Hazeline’s arrival was posted on their Facebook page, complete with pictures.  We had planned to sign Hazeline for her first class in January, and maybe even have her birthday there.

Hazeline Visiting Greenleigh's Class, April 2011

Today I’m sad because this evening was our last class at The Little Gym.  Due to extreme financial difficulty, they are shutting their doors on Wednesday.  While The Little Gym is a franchise, I know that the people who own it are losing their business and the employees who work there are losing their jobs…just in time for the holidays.  I’m heartbroken for them.  I wish I could say that this is the first business I have seen go under in the past few months, but it isn’t.

I suppose I’m also that we are losing our place for family time once a week.  Sure you can choose to go to the park or set time aside each week to be a family, but it’s more difficult when you don’t have a set date, time, and location.  I occasionally have to work on the weekends, but for the last 18 months I’ve made it know that those forty five minutes on Saturday mornings are off limits.  I have moved depositions and changed the time of inspections.  That’s our family time and it’s not to be trifled with.  It’s our time to be silly and spend with our children.

Greenleigh working on a new skill this past Saturday

So I suppose, rather than wallowing in the sadness I feel, I should look for the positive in all of this.  We had 18 wonderful months of family time at The Little Gym.  We’ve enjoyed the holiday parties they’ve hosted, the storytime sessions, and the birthday parties we’ve been invited to.   We met wonderful people, most of which we will try to keep in touch with.  We watched so many little kids grow and develop amazing skills.  The Little Gym motto is “Guilding Skills and Confidence”, and it definitely did that for us.  In our 18 months there Greenleigh learned so much.  She started jumping, running, and doing somersaults much earlier than most kids I know.  As I’ve said before, Greenleigh has no fear, but The Little Gym helped develop that in a positive way.  We made wonderful memories at The Little Gym that I will cherish.

Greenleigh getting the Most Adventurous Award, June 2011

I simply don’t know what we are going to do without our Little Gym family in our lives.

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8 Responses to Farewell Little Gym

  1. Sarah Wagner says:

    Oh! That’s sad… my kids are 7 & 10, a bit beyond the Little Gym years, but we spent plenty of time there too for parties and classes. You are right that it is a clean, warm, challenging, happy place for parents to be with their kids. I’m sad too about the loss of a good business and all of the jobs. It may not seem like it now, but I’m certain something new will come up in your lives to replace it. In the meanwhile, I’m glad you have the photos and the memories.
    Sarah from http://www.usalovelist.com

  2. What a precious child! And, the gym sounds like a really fun place. I’m sorry they must close.
    New follower from Get Connected Tuesday. Stop by & follow me, too. Growing Old With Grace http://growing-old-with-grace.blogspot.com/.
    Hugs, GraceinAZ

  3. So many small businesses are also closing in UK. I remember when I had to close my drama business, I was unhappy but relieved as the financial burden became too great. Hope you find another one.
    Nina

  4. Sharon says:

    Sad, but nice that you had such a wonderful outlet there for the time that you had it. You should consider printing out this blog post and sharing it with the owners of the Little Gym. This is probably a very emotional time for them and knowing that they brought you such happiness and how appreciative you were of their business could be a little ray of sunshine – to say that their efforts made a difference for you. 🙂

  5. I have always wanted to check out Little Gym for my kids. They have so much energy and I can never expend it all myself. So sad that they are having to close.

    Thanks for stopping by the Tiptoe Tuesday Blog Hop 🙂

  6. LisaLisa says:

    Wow, so sorry to hear this. What a great post and what a good way to help the kids direct there energy ! New follower….plz follow me back. Very cute blog

  7. Ronit Lubowicz says:

    This is the owner of The Little Gym of Pembroke Pines, Ronit Lubowicz. I wanted to let you know that I enjoyed reading your blog SOOO much! It was touching, and I know EXACTLY how you feel! I myself am a mother of four, and going through the classes as a mom, experiencing thoae same emotions. I would encourage you to come to our gym, give it a try. We promise we will do our best to make you feel at home. I know it won’t ever be the same, but knowing what you know from yourexperience, nothing can take away these precious memories you’ve made. Now its time to create new ones with both of your girls!!! Please call me on my cell phone if you’d like to talk about it, or our program. Ronit. Looking forward to meeting you soon!

  8. Susan F says:

    Sorry to hear that they are closing. 🙁 I hope you all find something to keep that amazing family time.
    Susan
    http://75percenthippie.blogspot.com
    http://happyhippieheart.blogspot.com

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