blue or red??

This was a big weekend for Katherine. On Sunday, she had a gymnastics meet at Chow's and Matt's parents came down to watch her. She was so excited to have them come down and spend a few days with us. Just today, she told me that she was happy that they wanted to watch her -- that they knew how important it was to her. She appreciated that everyone knew how how hard she had been working! Oh, and trust me, she's been working very hard these past few months!!

In July, Katherine was invited to join the TOPS class and it was a huge adjustment for her. The strength and conditioning that she has to do in this class is intense. Gone are the days of fun and games... no, that's for another class, a different set of kids .... she wants more, she wants to be better, she wants to learn the tough skills and perform them flawlessly. She wants all of this! Unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and roses. The skills are difficult and they don't come without practice and discipline. There's been many days that one of the girls has broken down in tears, and I'm sure several of them have wanted to just walk out of the gym at one time or another.

When she started the class she was smaller, weaker and younger than all the other girls. She was the newbie. She was the one who had to "earn it".... and earn it she did! Over the past 4 months, she's gotten much stronger, her form has improved immensely, and she's learned so many new skills. Her confidence has grown with each passing week, and she truly has a "can do" attitude ... which brings us to the meet this weekend....

Each of the girls had the choice between the easy or hard bars and beam routine. The "hard" bars routine included a front hip circle, which Katherine just landed for the first time two weeks ago. The "hard" beam routine included a cartwheel, which is tough for a little girl as your form has to be perfect or you won't land squarely on a 4 inch wide piece of wood.... In true Katherine style, she chose to do *both* the hard beam and bars routine. When we were talking about it, she looked at me and said, "Why wouldn't I do the hard routines, Mommy? I can do all those skills! I'm better than the easy routines...." Great, I told her, but that regardless of what she decided to do when the time came, I'd be proud of her. It didn't matter to me, and truly it didn't. But... that's my little girl! Seriously, she has no fear. She doesn't take the easy way out. She believes that she's the best and that she can do anything. She has big dreams and an even bigger heart. I love that about her! She said that she'd rather fall on the hard routines and get a red ribbon, than breeze through the easy routines and get a blue. To her, it wouldn't have meant as much... And for those of you that know her, you know how true that is!

So the meet ..... Katherine and I got down to the gym about 30 minutes before it was to start so that she could warm up, and Matt, the boys and his parents came down separately. After she got checked in and stretched out, she wanted to go over to the beam and practice her routine. She hopped right up and started practicing the hard routine. When it came time for the cartwheel, she missed and fell off sideways with one leg still on the other side of the beam. OUCH! Her little leg jerked and her whole body slammed into the mat. I just cringed. It's in those moments, that being a mother is the hardest. I wanted to rush over, pick her up, and give her a great big hug. I didn't. Instead, she picked herself up, got right back on the beam and attempted another cartwheel. For the first time in her life, she missed so badly that she landed, straddling the beam. DOUBLE OUCH. All I could do was watch as my baby girl closed her eyes in pain, and got off the beam. At this point I was sure, she'd do the easy routine, and really, who could have blamed her? Certainly not me. I was in pain just watching her. I wanted to cry for her. It was horrible.

After beam, she went over to bars and warmed up. She didn't practice her routine -- just her front hip circle, which was her newest skill in the routine. She landed it 5 or 6 times and got off. She looked really good, but her trademark smile wasn't back yet.

Her first rotation of the meet was vault. Danyel -- she's doing the handstand to flat back. (I'm not sure the correct name). Is that the Level 4 vault???? In any event, her handstand didn't stop perfectly perpendicular to the mat and she had a slight curve to her back. Katherine isn't known for her vaulting skills so I didn't think much of it. LOL!!

Next up was bars. Not only did she do the hard routine, but she nailed the front hip circle and the rest of her routine was flawless. Literally, textbook. I was so happy for her! I heard the judge say "blue plus" which meant that she did the hard routine and it was perfect. Her smile was instantly back. Oh, and not only that, but she was the ONLY one in the class to hit the hard routine!

On to beam. I wondered if she'd attempt the cartwheel. Since I didn't have the opportunity to talk to her, I had no idea what was going in her head. There were 4 girls in her TOPS class competing at the meet and the first two chose to do the easy routine. Then it was Katherine's turn. A few seconds into her routine, I realized that she was doing the hard routine. She stood up there, got in perfect form and landed a cartwheel as good as any I've ever seen her do. She landed squarely on the beam, didn't wobble in the slightest, and had the biggest smile on her face. I was fighting back tears. I was so proud of her.... not because she did the cartwheel, but because she didn't let warm-ups scare her. She had the ability to put the falls out of her mind, forget the past and focus on the here and now. She never fails to amaze me! I am so happy for her!!

Floor was last. I remember sitting directly across the gym from her. She was smiling and waving at her brothers and Leo, chatting with her friends, and relaxed. She was happy and confident. Her floor routine was easy for her. She could hit all the skills in her sleep. It was fun to watch her knowing what she had mentally overcome earlier in the day.

She had a great meet. She got 3 blue ribbons and 1 red ribbon (vault). She chose to do the hard routines, when she had every reason to do the easy ones, and didn't let a little stumble ruin her day. At Chow's, she was a champion on Sunday. To me, she's a champion everyday!