I'm a Gymnastics Mama

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Before I had kids, I never thought I'd ever be one of those moms in her teal green van, driving 9 days of the week to her kids' soccer practice, then to hockey, then to violin lessons. The thought of freezing my buns off in an arena watching little people collapse over the ice didn't seem one bit appealing to me.

Okay, so I'm not driving 9 or even 7 days of the week, but this week it was 5 (minus the teal mini-van)....

Kezia had her gymnastics festival this weekend. Normally she has practices on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Then add the three hour practice on Thursday night at the larger club. It was quite the experience. Now, I wasn't freezing my buns off in an arena, they were just slowly decaying from the lack of blood flow due to the concrete seats.

The first night, we all went and my first mistake was wearing white shorts. Never wear white shorts if you are planning to sit down, even in places that are meant to sit.

We all really enjoyed watching Kezia, because normally we can't look into her classes. She was very secretive about it, and wouldn't practice it at home. It's for the special show and it should be a surprise, she told us. Joel and Asha sat and watched her intently that rehearsal night at the gym, and as she looked up at us after it was done, she had this amazing smile of sheer pride of her face.

On Saturday, I went earlier with Kezia because they were having pictures. I already knew from last time about the make-up and the hair. Even the littlest girls, with their sippy cups in tow, have their hair done with glitter and wear a bit of make-up. Well, I skipped the blue eyeshadow and made Kezia look quite nice (although, c'mon, they don't need any make-up!). First, the pictures took 90 minutes and it was PACKED in there. I wondered if Kezia would last and if she remembered to tell a teacher if she had to go to the bathroom. Then, after sitting their for almost 2 hours, Carl and the kids and Laurie and her kids arrived for the program which lasted about 2 hours.

It was a great program. Though my backside had lost all feeling and my legs were starting to feel limp, it was all worth it. I felt bad for the little girl that totally froze and just stood there. But not our Kezia. She marched out, didn't even blink an eye at the hundreds of eyes watching her, and did her best. Kezia was in her glory.

Now I can totally understand why that mom drives around 9 days of the week. Because after seeing Kezia work so hard and being so proud of her, I would do it in a heart beat.