Gymnastics meet

Kate is on a gymnastics team. For the past few years she's been taking classes and attending camps of various degrees of intensity; sometimes it didn't seem like she was getting much out of it. But she's found her way into a good program with a couple of really good friends, and been going 3 times a week for the past year or so. And now she's on a team, and had her first meet last weekend.

We've had plenty of sports weekends away with Jack and his travel baseball team over the last several years, but this time Jack was just along for the ride. It was all about Kate. She was a little bit nervous as we loaded up the car and headed out. "Nervited," she said, which was a combination of nervous and excited.

We checked into our hotel, and that Nervited condition manifested as Kate talking a little bit louder than usual. But she was happy, jumping around from bed to bed and using the narrow floor space to practice her moves. We went out to dinner at a pizza place, and she noticed a Ms. Pacman machine. She wanted to go play it, and it was her weekend, so we did. Arcade games are a little tricky for kids far more used to tapping and swiping on a computer or phone screen than wielding a joystick, so we quickly spent a buck or two and returned to the table. Food and drink arrived, and then her two best friends and their families shortly after that. Jack and I ended up going back to the room while the girls and Moms chattered away, excited/nervited about the next day's competition.

Before going to bed that night (a little early for Emily and me; we were all in the same hotel room, of course, and Kate couldn't/wouldn't sleep with lights or TV on), we did a take on the "asking questions" we always do before bed. Favorite part of the day, what are you most looking forward to tomorrow, that kind of thing. Sleep did not come easy, since somebody woke up every hour or so for water, bathroom, or to say (Kate) "Is it time to get up yet?" No, Kate, it's 1 a.m. I believe Kate slept OK, although she slept late enough back at home the next morning that she was probably behind.

We were up early; she had to be at the meet stretching by 8 a.m., and it was 20 minutes away, and we had to register and everything. So at 6:15 or so Emily was up doing Kate's hair. Kate was chattering away, and then dancing in front of the mirror while brushing her teeth. I think that's what I'll remember most; Kate cheerful and excited getting ready at a ridiculously early hour. We had breakfast, packed up, and were on our way to the meet.

It was a huge community college gymnasium, with girls running and tumbling and jumping in all the various sections of the floor. Balance beam here, uneven bars there, vault in back. Difficult to tell for novice viewers (us) what was the actual event and what was a warmup, but we gradually figured it out by identifying the judges: if there were judges paying attention, it was an event; if there were coaches helping gymnasts, it was a warmup.

All the girls did all four events: vault, bars, beam and floor. I had seen some of Kate's floor routine in practice, I had seen her practice on her beam around the house. I had also seen her do vault, and knew that bars was her toughest challenge -- probably a little afraid, since for bars you're high up, you can fall on your head, and it's the most physically demanding (strength). I think; this is new to me.

Being a neophyte, I couldn't really tell what was good or bad in things like vault, beam or floor. With bars it was easier; she had to be helped at one point, and got her lowest score, and was upset afterward. But she got her highest score in beam, and that looked the best to me; a lot of the girls lost their balance and had to step off midway through and start again. Not Kate. She ended up getting an 8.85; I later learned that getting a 9.0 was required for a medal. So she was very close. And I think she was proud of herself, since when she came off she had a big smile and was happy. Thought she did well in floor, too, although I guess she could have been faster, jumped higher, something of that nature.

At the end, though, she seemed fairly happy; I told her how great she did, especially on beam and floor. They had this lengthy awards ceremony where she didn't get a medal; I didn't know why at the time. They gave participation/consolation medals to the 20-25 girls who didn't medal during the meet, which was probably unnecessary; I don't think they wanted one that way. Afterward Kate was a little sad, or maybe hungry, or both.

Maybe my expectations weren't as high as hers. I looked at it as, It was her first meet, her first-ever competitive athletic events of any kind (at times she cared about doing well in baseball, and at times she did, but I don't think it ever mattered that much to her; basketball she definitely didn't care a whit about). But she'd never been on that kind of stage with judges analyzing her every move. Bars were the only thing she struggled on. Everything else she did well on -- just not quite well enough to get a 9.0 and a medal. But she came through it by doing the best she could.

Afterward, I told her I was proud of her. How awesome, especially, she'd done on beam. How great she looked on the floor routine. I hugged her and told her I loved her.

Later that night, at home, she sent me a text from her iPad with a bunch of different emojis. It was largely indecipherable to me so I went and talked to her. She explained that she had decided she was happy and proud of herself. I said, I'm happy and proud of you too.

Next week, another meet. Hopefully she'll be less nervous and do a little bit better. Last night she practiced for a while at her various skills, and she'll have two more practices this week to work on things. Next week will be her second meet. She'll be a little more ready. And hopefully smile a little wider. Whatever: I'll still be proud.