Olympics

We have been enjoying the Olympics this week on tv. Katie hasn't cared too much about it, although she likes doing gymnastics and is very upset that she can't do a cartwheel. I tried to help one night and spotted her for a cartwheel, but she said it wasn't good enough. Then she asked me if I could do a cartwheel....hmmm. I cleared a space and attempted what I thought in my head was a pretty good cartwheel. I looked at her disappointed face after I had finished and knew that I hadn't lived up to her expectations. :) "That's not very good mom." I think my gymnastics career is over - I can't even impress a 4 year old.

I remember when I was younger - 8, 9, 10 years old, and how much I wanted to be able to do gymnastics. I so wanted to learn how to do back flips and cartwheels and all that jazz. Unfortunately in our small town there was not much opportunity for these things. One summer when I was 9, and we lived in Lansing, IA I became very close friends with a neighbor girl that was visiting her dad for the summer from...I can't remember where. Anyway her name was Danielle and she took ACTUAL gymnastics lessons...with a real coach. She could do everything! Danielle tried to teach me as best she could and was very encouraging, for a 9 year old. That was the first time I watched the movie Nadia - the made for tv movie about the life of Nadia Comaneci. I was hooked. (On a side note...Netflix just got that movie in their library!! I have it coming tomorrow...what a blast from the past...it's been like 15 years since I have seen it!) I never talked to Danielle again after that summer, lost touch - don't know what ever became of her.

Anyway, that summer was the height of my gymnastics ability. Sad, but true. A few years later I was practicing handstands and was doing them absolutely perfect. A friend tried to help me do a flip from a handstand position, and it wasn't a great idea because I broke my collarbone. I haven't been upside down since. :)

So am I pushing my gymnastics dreams onto Katie? I don't think so. After all, Katie doesn't get 'pushed' into anything she doesn't want to do. She's too strong willed. She likes somersaults, etc., but I think she would rather be on stage singing than flipping around.



Maybe there's a chance with Will. On second thought - maybe we should just get him walking first.