A while back, maybe a couple months, I was at the gym working on my fitness when Cathy Robertson approached me. She said (and I’m paraphrasing because it was a while ago): “Why don’t you write about this place for your column? It’s such a wonderful place.”
We talked about how much we both loved the Cowichan Aquatic Centre but how it might be tricky for me to write about given I, for a long time, was the paper’s political beat writer, including the goings-on around North Cowichan, and there may be a perceived conflict of interest if I were to express my support for a municipal facility.
That, and the private gym owners may take it as a slight, as many aren’t thrilled with the public facility taking their business. (No slight intended. I’m sure your patrons love your gyms as much as I love mine.)
I sat on the idea for a while. The thing is, I’m not really a political reporter anymore. I re-write the occasional press release but my colleague Robert Barron tackles the big stuff now. I’m OK with that. It was my choice to go and have babies then to return to work part-time. Writing hard news is a full-time job.
Anyway, back to the gym. I don’t know if you’ve ever met Cathy Robertson but she’s been the general manager at Community Futures Cowichan for 10 years and she works hard to develop the local economy. She works equally hard on her fitness. So, I kind of feel like when she tells me to do something, I ought to do it, just to avoid a physical fight. I would lose. I doubt she’s the kind of person that would literally fight me… but that’s beside the point. I would lose.
On the day of our chat, I looked around the gym to see several ladies and gentlemen in their jeans or khakis doing the Take Heart cardiac wellness program, there was a fitness class in the south end, a couple of meat-heads (I use that term lovingly) pumping iron, and a bunch of regular people like you and me — from teenagers to the elderly and everything in between — using the machines and free weights.
The other day I partnered with a gentleman in a wheelchair so he could to do his core exercises to prepare for his new prosthetic leg. We had a good chat. It was the highlight of my day.
You never know who you’ll see but there’s always somebody there with a smile and a nod.
I don’t know a lot of names but I know a lot of faces. I’ve met a lot of great people. I feel a sense of belonging there. It really is a true community centre. One that anyone can be a part of regardless of age, gender or ability. And most days I’m happy to be sweating to the oldies, sometimes even with the oldies, and you’d be surprised how much more fit they are than me.
My husband admits he doesn’t understand the draw though he’s admittedly as allergic to exercise as he is to socializing. But there’s a certain peace that comes with being in a place where you’re working to better yourself, and to have the support of those there working to better themselves too.
sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
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