The Quest

Ruthie Started gymnastics right around the same time she started 1st grade. I really had no idea what I was signing up for. We had tried the soccer thing, T-ball and dance. Done the recitals. We played the violin for a brief time and went to one of those concerts. But when we stepped into the gym it seemed to all fall into place for her. She had found her passion at the young age of six. In the three years that followed, I never once heard her ask, "do I have to go?" She went quickly from rec to hotshots and from there to level I in a matter of just months. She climbed through the ranks of Level II and Level III. There were tears as the conditioning got harder. There were set backs with a broken wrist and stitches that planted fear in her mind. She got through all of that and still never asked, "Do I have to go?" All you parents out there know what I mean...your child is so excited to begin that new thing. You get out that birth certificate, stand in line, get signed up. You rush to buy the right shoes and the proper outfit. Then, inevitably, the shine wears off and you hear, "Do I have to go?"

When your child starts gymnastics, there is really not much to go watch. They go in and they do what looks to you like playing for 45 minutes to an hour. There's no game on Saturday morning. There is no recital at the end of the year. But, one day, you get that invitation to be on team and your daughter's face is so bright it could light a football stadium at midnight and you just know that the hours you have spent fighting the other children to behave in the lobby so she could do her thing have all been worth it. And so, after 3 years of hard work, we have reached her first year of competition and I have to tell you...I'm nervous!

Because she had just gotten her cast off and was not yet ready to compete, Ruthie had to be a cheerleader at her first meet, which for a gymnast is sacrilegious. But, she went in looking at the bright side which was that she would get to observe how it all happened without all the nerves. Her team did well, she had fun. After awards, her coaches awarded the team award which was a banner to the gymnast who scored the highest ALL AROUND. As we walked to the car, I looked down at her and I said, "what do you think? Pretty cool, Huh?" And oh, child of mine said, "Ya, I'm gonna get me one of those banners." And so we begin the quest...


Black Jack AT The Beach, Daytona, FL

Gymnastics is a confusing sport. There are deductions I could never begin to understand. If they stay on the beam, it looks good to me...however, apparently mommy's opinions do not matter. So, her first time out the gate, she scored:

Vault 8.9 (10th)
Bars 9.05 (2T)
Beam 8.25 (9th)
Floor 8.7 (4th)
All Around 34.9 (7th out of 12)

Now, they break them into levels and then age groups so in her age group, there were 12 girls. She got some medals. I smiled and was very excited for her. I say, "wow! Great job...that was so much fun!" She says, "People did better than me, next time, I'm going to be better." By "people" she means her team mates and I know that this is really what is bothering her. Ruthie has a drive that won't quit. She can't help herself and understand it but, I want her to be proud of where she came from and remember that it is her first meet and everyone else's second. I want her to remember that she overcame a broken ankle and put in extra time to get to this meet. She's having none of it and so, we will see what the next meet holds for her...Stay tuned.

The boys have also begun their fall activities. They are off and running with flag football. More on that, later...

Dancing Queen

I have started helping my friend Lisa with the kid's choir at our church. When I say helping what I really mean is the I am there for crowd control and as a sounding board for her. I have no music back ground..at all...but, I can manage children. Since she was very small, Ruthie has always enjoyed singing and acting in front of crowds. She has always been very entertaining at the preschool musicals each holiday and at the end of the year. She has always worked very hard on memorizing all of the motions and whenever possible, she has tried out for a sung solos at church. So, this year, Lisa decided it was time to take it up a notch with the choir and do a musical. This woman pulled off the the cutest show I have seen in quite a while and my beautiful and multi-talented daughter had a dance number...the show was so good that there is little room for improvement...if I do say so myself!

Happy Birthday, Rusty!

Rusty is EIGHT! I can't believe it! I remember just a few short weeks before he was born walking from the back of my house to see Ruthie sitting in the family room watching a Baby Motzart video and my eyes began to water because I wanted just a little more time with her before the new baby came. Now, all these years and 3 children later, I cannot imagine a house with just one child. I can't imagine the meals, the laundry, the vacations, the car rides. The birthdays! We are our own party. But, continuing with this year's theme, Rusty picked one park and I shared it with him.

He chose Magic Kingdom and with him, It wasn't the race cars that we rode over and over. Well, it was, we rode them 3 times but we also frequented the tea cups...who knew? I had to convince him to ride Pirates of the Caribbean and The Jungle Cruise but I think the cruise ended up being his favorite ride of the day. You see, it's not as if he's never been it's just that Rusty is our easy going, go with the flow child. It seems now that I have been with him by himself, he probably had opinions the other times we went as well. He probably enjoyed some rides more than others, but being the kind, reserved person he is, he just went with the rest of us making no waves along the way.

Truth be told, the high light of his day (among all the "War Eagles!" and sharing a moment with a fellow Tiger and birthday boy at the race track) was shopping. I know. However, he knew weeks ahead of time that he would be able to pick out one toy under $50 as part of his day. As soon as we walked in the gates, he wanted to buy his toy. I convinced him to shop along the way not making his decision until it was time to leave the park. I mean, Disney World, no stroller...who want to carry a bag all day? So, we shopped on Main street, in Fantasy land, Frontier land and in all the lands between finally settling on a set of Puffle pins for his lanyard. On top of that, the park stayed open until 10pm but around 7:00 he looked up at me and said, "OK, I'm done now." Really? "yah, I just want to stop at McDonald's on the way home." It's his birthday and I am fully prepared to shut the park down but I can't compete with the pull of a little college football with his daddy before bed.

The best parts of the day for me were the car rides...just talking to him about nothing really...just that time where it's me and him and there are no other voices chiming in and no fighting in the background. I also really enjoyed seeing the park decorated for fall...that was a first for me. Rusty was awesome about letting me take his picture all day and he was so sweet, constantly asking what I wanted to do. We did just about everything and I got to know my new 8-year old Rusty just a little bit better. You can't buy days like this.

So, at the end of a wonderful day with my oldest son, we wander back out to the car and we stop for burgers and fries at the golden arches. We walk into the chaos that is our home, and flop onto the couch to finish out the day with a little SEC football. Happy Birthday, Rusty!