Gymnastics

You know you’re a mom when you’re getting up at 4 AM to pack lunches and prep for a schlep to the middle of nowhere so your 9 year old daughter can compete in her first gymnastics tournament.  I didn’t realize how long a gymnastics meet lasted….3 1/2 hours seems like a lot to expect a parent to endure.  My precious won a 4th place medal for the uneven bars and 5th for floor exercise so the payoff was an incredibly happy girl and, ultimately,  3 1/2 hours well spent.  Please indulge me while I gush for a moment.  This event highlighted a bunch of things I already knew but don’t take the time to appreciate enough.  This kid is incredible.  Resilient.  Happy.  A great friend.  She did a face plant into the mats on her first attempt at the vault.  It looked like a real show stopper.  Did she cry?  No.  Did she berate herself?  Not at all.  She shook it off, went back to the starting point, nailed her next vault and was rewarded with a good score.  There’s a lot of sitting around during these things and some of the kids were squirmy or goofing around.  My girl cheered her teammates on and gave them thumbs up and encouragement while sitting on the sidelines.  I love this kid.  If she wasn’t mine I would wish that she was.  Nothing makes me happier than seeing my children experiencing joy and if I have to get up at 4 AM to make that happen, no big deal.   This was my favorite new thing so far this year.