Confidence in Community
Surely, Shauna is wearing an invisible cape. She’s raising five kids, running marathons, prepping for her first triathlon, and serving as the Board Chair for the North Rutherford Y. She credits her superhero strength to the community.
“Seriously, I have five kids because of the Y,” she said.
Knowing she has extra support outside of her family and friends gives Shauna confidence.
“I picked my daughter up from Y-Play today and she said, ‘Mommy, I learned my colors.’ How cool is that? She’s not missing out on development or learning, and I’m not missing out on taking care of my body. Mentally, physically, emotionally—I’m a better mom.”
Shauna’s Y story started about six years ago after her second child was born. She needed an outlet, but she found so much more.
“You join the Y thinking you’re just going to work out, but it becomes your family. You get a support group. I have friends that I’ve only been friends with a few years, but I feel like I’ve known them my whole life,” she said. “We want to exercise. We want to be healthy. And then we talk about our kids, and we talk about our families, and our goals, and start pushing each other to do bigger and better things than we ever thought were possible.”
Those things include more half-marathons than Shauna can count, two full marathons, and a half Ironman coming up this month. A small group from her Y is going to compete and cheer for each other.
“I would have never done any of this without the support group that I have here,” she said. “What mom with five kids can train for a full marathon or half Ironman? That doesn’t happen without this.”
Shortly after finding a life-changing community at the Y, Shauna said she was “on fire” for others to do the same. Her enthusiasm and leadership made her a great fit for the center’s Board of Directors.
“I was going to the staff with ideas for new members to help them get connected, and they were like, ‘You need to be on the Board.’”
She’s been serving for several years now and is as passionate as ever about helping others grow in spirit, mind, and body. It’s been yet another example of the Y allowing her to achieve more than she would have imagined.
“I’m actually the Board Chair this year, which is another thing I didn’t think I’d get to do with kids, but people have bent over backwards to help me,” she said. “The ladies in Y-Play are amazing. They love my kids. I couldn’t do it without Y-Play.”
Shauna jokes that the Y-Play staff care more about her kids than she does some days and says that it really is the love of the whole community that makes it strong. They help each other to become the best versions of themselves.
“I leave a better mom. I leave with a different perspective," she said. "I could be stuck in the drudge of diapers and kids, but I leave knowing that I’m their mom and I love them, and I want to care for them because I’ve cared for myself."