Sunday, April 19, 2009

conquering demons

Girly was more than a little bit scared about going to any gymnastics competitions. We're not totally sure why, but she is definitely closer to WB's introverted nature than my extroverted. Because of her extreme resistance, we took the choice away from her and made her go. The only way she'll know what to expect is to do it, and she might as well learn about meets now rather than when (if?) she makes the competition squad.

She was very close to losing her breakfast before her first event, but her coach was standing right there next to her, and you could see her face relax after finishing that first event. By the end, she was glad she'd gone. She even won her level on floor exercise, and came in second in her level for their All Around scores!

I think what I enjoy most about parenting these days is watching them grow. She was really out of her comfort zone today, but she found the inner strength to suck it up and get through it. She could have melted down-- many other kids might have-- and she could have just dug in her heels and told us no. But she knew she had to overcome this hurdle, and she did. We are so very proud of her. It was a good day to be a Girly!

1 comment:

Traveling Jones said...

Ah, my old nemesis: the balance beam.

I'm proud of Girly, too! First on floor and second all-around? That's awesome! I think the inner-strength she showed is even more impressive, however.