Gymnastics

Most of you reading this blog know that the sport of gymnastics was a huge part of my life for many, many, many years.  I began classes at 4 years old, started competing around 7, started coaching at 15, stopped competing at 17 (the back fractures played a part in that!), and stopped coaching at 23.  So, for almost 2 decades I was in some way involved with this great sport.  Over the those 19 years I had a serious love/hate relationship with gymnastics.  I loved it, of course, or I wouldn't have invested so much time in it.  I loved the feeling of flying, the feeling you get after achieving a goal that you worked on for weeks, sometimes months.  I loved how physically fit I was and how I could eat whatever I wanted.  I loved competing.  I loved the girls and the relationships I built throughout those years, many of whom I'm still close with.  But I as I grew older, I began to resent the sport.  I began to hate all those hours I would spend in the gym during the week (16-20 during the season, 24 during the summer) while other high-school friends were at football games, dances, parties, etc.  I hated all the injuries that came with the sport and were always so frequent.  I hated th bloody "rips" I would constatly have on my palms and wrists.  I hated that there was no possible way I could do another sport and still be a competitive gymnast, there just wasn't enough time in the week!  In spite of all these negative aspects of the sport, I still loved it so much and in my mind, the benefits ALWAYS outweighed the negatives.  Because of the pounding and physical intensity of gymnastics,  my body is now probably the same as a 55 year old woman.  I have two screws in my spine and arthritis, my bones crack, my hips pop, my elbows hyperextend and it takes me a while to get moving in the morning.  Even still, I think gymnastics is great.  :)
  
So my point to this whole post goes back to Sienna.  Back in late 2005, when I found out for the first time that we were having a girl, my mind almost immediately went back to the sport.  Oh my gosh, she'll be a gymnast!!!  She'll go to GMS (my old gym), Azin (my old coach) will coach her and it will be so fabulous to see her compete.  Haha.  Well, so far it's not turning out quite as I had planned.  Sienna did gymnastics last winter/spring and loved it!  Then Noah came and we took some time off.  We started her back up this past March, and she's already had enough.  She is a little scared of swinging on the rope, doing a forward roll off the bar, and the list goes on and on so she decided she was going to boycott from now on.  I know most Mom's reading this are thinking, it could be just a phase, she's still so young, etc., and you may be right.  However, it's her statements last week that really almost made me cry.  I asked her last Wednesday, "Sienna are you sure you don't want to go back to gymnastics tomorrow?"  Sienna says, "No Mommy!  I don't want to do gymnastics ANYMORE!  I don't like gymnastics!!"  Dagger.  How could MY child not like this sport?  Haha.  Well, I guess it is quite possible that she won't like it...I just never really considered this...whoops.  (Oh and if you're wondering why I never mentioned the possiblity of the boys doing gymnastics, it's because Scott won't have it.  It's too much of a girly sport for him...)

I strongly believe that sports are critical to a childhood.  They teach you discipline, keep you physically fit, keep you happy, teach competiveness, teach you how to be mentally strong, etc, etc.  I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that Sienna may not like gymnastics, and that's okay, but we will continue to search for her niche...whether that be swimming, soccer, softball, dance, etc.  I really hope my kids inherit our love for sports!  :)