Thursday, July 26, 2007

THIS MOM DOESN'T LOVE GYMNASTICS, BUT LOVES A DAUGHTER'S DREAM

After a two week break to visit my parents in upstate New York, my daughter couldn't wait to get back to her gymnastics. Her dance classes won't start up again until August so right now there is nothing on her mind buy gymnastics, gymnastics, gymnastics!

I keep her in the gymnastics becuase she is so in love with it, but I have to admit, I don't really encourage it. No, I'm not one of those moms pushing her into training, fighting with coaches, and telling her she'll be in the Olympics one day. However, I also refuse to tell her that she WON'T be in the Olympics one day. She's the one who talks about Olympic dreams and I believe in dreams. I believe they should be followed, allowed to grow or be changed with time as necessary, but never, ever broken.

So what is my problem if this is her dream and she is enthusiastically following it? Well, I know that with a sport like gymnastics, the longer you are in it, the more likely the chances for injury. Sometimes big injuries. I am sure to see broken arms, broken legs, trips to the hospital... as a mother I want to keep my daughter safe. Just the thought of seeing her fall in a competition or practice and getting hurt drives me crazy.

Here's what keeps me sane. Broken bones will surely heal, but a broken spirit never will. As long as my daughter has her spirit she can accomplish anything. I want to see her fly!

Monday, July 9, 2007

MOTHER-DAUGHTER TIME TOGETHER...Six Flags Great Escape at Lake George, NY. We got to the amusement park around 1 PM. The skies looked like a threat of rain, but it never happened. Therefore, the park wasn't too busy and lines for rides were reasonable.

Of course, my daughter with her TOMGIRLZ spirit loves rides! I don't. Anything that goes up and down, round and round, or fast leaves me with my heart in my throat. So how did we spend the day together? We actually had a wonderful time. The joy for me is watching her have fun. She went on the Comet Roller Coaster at least 10 times. The first time she was a little nervous going by herself. There was a really nice teenage girl about to go on and she offered to ride with my daughter. My daughter was thrilled. She made a new friend and from then on didn't care if she rode alone or not.

I went on the Raging River ride with her. That is a pretty easy going ride where you are seated in a tube and get squirted with water as you go around. I thought I would be smart and pulled a jacket over my head so I wouldn't get to wet. Unfortunately, the jacket was denim. It got soaked and stayed with for the rest of the day!

The bumper cars were fun...that's a ride that stays on the ground and was more my speed. Then the kicker. She got me to go on a ride called the Pirate Ship. It is like a giant swing that pushes you up in the air to the point that you feel like you are going to flip over. I was miserable and couldn't wait for the ride to be over. In fact, after riding the SHIP I couldn't even watch my daughter ride it without me. The bar doesn't strap you in and she's such a skinny little thing that I was freaking out that she could slip through. She didn't agree. I had to watch her ride that ship about 4 more times!

Aside from the rides, we enjoyed the dive show very much. Since my daughter is a gymnast, she really appreciated the diving skills and there was an acrobat that did some amazing stunts. Of course, when everyone in the audience went "Ooohhh" and "Ahhhh..." my daughter said, "That's easy!"

The food was a bit on the expensive side. $3.20 for a sip of soda?! That's worse than the movie theater! But all in all we had a wonderful time. We didn't leave the park until 9:30 that night and she slept the whole way home. It was a great mother-daughter day.

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Gymnastics for Young Girls

My 9 year old daughter has been in gymnastics since she was one year old. We started her because she literally climbed the walls even at that young age. My husband and I felt it would be a good outlet for her to use up some energy and save the walls. Anyway, she did take to gymnastics, but it still didn't save the walls!

Now she is on the team (level 4 USAG). She is practicing with the team about 10 hours per week, dancing another 6 hours, and then coming home and tumbling into the night! She just never stops. She absolutely loves the sport.

I see great benefits from gymnastics. No other sport offers so much... Strength and power, grace and flexibility, balance and coordination, plus a great deal of confidence. I was very happy that she got so involved, but now I'm just worried about all the stress on those young bones. I recently heard of another girl on the team suffering from an injury to her growth plates. Plus she fractured her arm...she is only 7 years old!

Anyone else know more about the pros and cons of gymnastics for young girls?

Monday, July 2, 2007

Ballroom Salsa Performance


One of the best experiences (and at times worst) was choreographing my own kids for a salsa routine that they performed at a local ballroom. Here I am with my daughter after the performace. She did an awesome job with my son! Salsa is a great dance to start kids with and get them into ballroom. I have several children taking lessons from me and they are all fabulous! Dancing is good for the soul and great for the body... Let's all keep on dancing!