I was at my beloved gym last week, doing the “Cardio Bunny”—puffing away on the elliptical instead of lifting like a true hard-core—when I saw some employees industriously moving out large boxes of various equipment. “Oh, good!” I thought. “This must mean they’re finally going to renovate the back room and make it into a really good workout space.” Later when I went to get a drink of water, I noticed that the bio and photo of their most senior trainer had been taken off the wall. “Hmm,” I thought. “Maybe he got promoted to management!” Then as I was leaving, I saw a suspiciously formal-looking notice in a Lucite holder posted at the reception desk. My heart sank into the earth as I read the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good news that my haven, my rock, my place of physical healing and transformation, was closing their doors for good. I was utterly shocked, but that shock quickly turned to anger, and I (nicely) demanded to know from the kid at the reception desk why they were closing. He looked flushed and nervous and blurted out something about “the land being valuable” and “the owners can’t afford the rent anymore.” Utterly crushed, I walked home, told Mr. Typist, and immediately sank into a deep depression, followed in quick order by a bout of rebellion: I will find a
I could see these words being as true for writers/writing as for physical/athletic endeavors: "I realize that my fitness isn’t dependent on a specific place. It’s dependent on persistence and consistency, which is driven for me by the unexpected joy that I found in experiencing my body’s strength and abilities—something I never knew was in me after a lifetime of lacking physical confidence and being convinced that I didn’t have an athletic bone in my body."
I could see these words being as true for writers/writing as for physical/athletic endeavors: "I realize that my fitness isn’t dependent on a specific place. It’s dependent on persistence and consistency, which is driven for me by the unexpected joy that I found in experiencing my body’s strength and abilities—something I never knew was in me after a lifetime of lacking physical confidence and being convinced that I didn’t have an athletic bone in my body."
So sorry for your loss.