Gymnastics Update

Well, last night Andy went to pick up Sis from a FOUR hour practice.  She only did 2 1/2 hour practices at her old gym.  She handled the 3 hour practice on Tuesday like a champ, but last night resulted in some tears midway through practice.  Sissy told Olivia that she was sad because she missed mom.  Olivia is so sweet.  She took her out for a snack and a chat, then let Sis play for a bit and then she rejoined the girls for practice.  Olivia was super sweet and called me right after Andy picked her up.  She wanted to make sure I knew what happened and how she handled it.   The girls on the team brought Olivia over to talk to Sis instead of teasing her because she was sad.  Some of the girls on her old team teased her because she was the youngest instead of building her up and including her.  How awesome is that?  The head coach actually took the time to make sure that my kid was happy to be at practice instead of acting like a drill sergeant!  She stopped coaching to spend some one on one time with my kid.  THAT alone validates this switch to the new gym.

Olivia told me that last night they spent some time at the end of practice letting the kids try new skills on different pieces of equipment.  The kids got to choose where they wanted to go and then taught them skills from the advanced levels.  Sis was doing more level 4 skills on the bars last night - she hasn't even competed as a level 3 yet!  They really keep it fun for the kids as well as helping them get use to advanced skills in a safe environment so that when they do need to perform the skills, they aren't scared of them.

If my kid is going to spend so much time away from me, I want her around these coaches and kids.  I can't tell you how much it warmed my heart to hear how much the kids and coaches cared about my baby.  She came home happy and bouncing around.  Olivia told me that Sis kept giving her hugs all night and said that Sis is her new favorite kid on team!  This move caused me some stress and anxiety but God has shown me once again to trust his plans.  Sis loves her new gym and her new coaches.  I'm so excited to see how God uses her in this new situation.