Girl Weekend

The only possible way to have a weekend away is to have a husband willing and able to be at home with the rest of the kids.  So for that, I am blessed and thankful for Carl.  He had three kids (two were sick) at home while Kezia and I ventured off for her first out of province gymnastics competition.  I was nervous about leaving Elena, since this was the first time I was away from her, but I knew that Carl is a capable dad and she would be fine.  Because if I can be fine alone with kids for days while he's gone, well so can he.

It was a great weekend away with Kezia.  We re-connected with some friends and family, which was just lovely.  The weekend was pretty jammed packed and on competition day, I was extremely nervous for Kezia.  One of the other moms said at breakfast her daughter woke up in the morning and immediately burst into tears she was so anxious.  Kezia didn't even mention she was scared and I panicked that I hadn't actually prepared her for what she was about to experience.  All the people, the cameras, the noise and the commotion and if she had a meltdown it would be my fault.  So I casually mentioned to her that this competition was pretty big and she just nodded over her cereal.  Well, she remained pretty calm and I was really proud of how she did, as this was the first time she was competing at this level.  Kezia brought home a ribbon in her beloved vault and ranked in the top half of her category in beam, bars, and floor.  She even got an autograph from Kyle Shewfelt!

I was a bit emotional throughout the weekend.  I was reminiscing on my own childhood and the trips I remember taking when I was 8 years old.  I got choked up going into the restaurant with her and sleeping in the cozy hotel room, watching her have a great time with friends in the pool.  I don't think she had a clue how much this meant to me, except for the fact she was having some special one on one time with her mom.  It was a special weekend away with her, my oldest daughter.