Just Your Average Gym Mom

I need to make a disclaimer:

I'm an average gym mom. I am definitely not perfect. And my daughter is your average gymnast. She's not perfect, either. 

I have four daughters and a son. My middle child is the one who loves gymnastics. This is a picture of her and me at Western Nationals in 2018. She's pretty adorable, right? Do I want to ruin that happy smile by being a crazy gym mom? No, I do not. That's another reason I started this blog. So we can all be better gym moms, together.

I know I'm not the best. My daughter isn't the best, either. But she loves this sport. She's talented, but she's not the kid getting five new level-ten skills in a week. She's your happy-to-go-to-practice-and-work-hard kid (most of the time).

We had the do-you-want-to-try-to-go-elite discussion a few years ago and she doesn't want to. She loves her coaches and her teammates. She loves where she is. She loves pushing herself, but she doesn't love stress. She's a good competitor, but it's a rare thing for her to come first, or even second or third. When she does it's a cause for big celebration.

She's a kid who loves gymnastics. A kid who LIKES working out a whole lot. Since she started this sport when she was six years old, she's never once complained about going to practice. She started off pretty intense, pretty focused, pretty diligent from a young age. None of my other kids have shown a desire to do a sport that demands so much. And that's fine. She's just wired differently.

Do I wish she paid more attention to detail? Do I wish I had amazing athletic genes to pass on to her so every skill could come easily? Do I wish she loved to stretch? Do I wish she was naturally flexible? Do I wish she had higher aspirations?

Stop right there. Who cares what I wish? It's not about me. This is her thing and she's bringing what she has to the table. I'm not the one out there on the four-inch beam. I'm not the one working my butt off. One of my most important jobs as her mom is making sure she keeps that smile.

(Does she always smile? No. Not at all. That would be crazy. Gymnastics is hard.)

Do I have to remind myself of this a lot? Yes. Yes, I do. Because I'm an average gym mom trying not to be a crazy gym mom. I'm proud of my child and her accomplishments, but I'm also aware of her shortcomings.

Can anyone relate?