Something New

After almost three years of taking dance classes, Lydia hung up her ballet slippers. At the conclusion of the fall semester, she began asking to please let her take gymnastics in the spring instead of ballet. I resisted. She does well at ballet and I thought she should continue. Since both classes are held on the same day at the same time, a choice had to be made. She persisted and I continued to refuse. Then, one day, she looked me straight in the eye and said “but shouldn’t I be able to try something new?” Smart girl.

She started gymnastics and hasn’t looked back. She loves it. I swear she grins from ear-to-ear every week for the full hour-long class. It helps that her instructors are talented and focused, but are also very nurturing and make sure that the kids have fun as they learn.

Last weekend, the Spring Gymnastics Meet was held. Lydia participated in three events – the balance beam, trampoline, and vault. It was so fun watching her – not because she’s showing signs of being the next Shawn Johnson, but because she was having such a great time while she was trying to do her best. Her enthusiasm could hardly be contained, which probably resulted in a couple of lower scores (which were kept, but very much not the focal point of the event) – but you have to just smile when a kid is so happy that she flaps her arms and hops when she should be running!

Here are a few photos from the day:

I must admit that Lydia was absolutely right to persevere in her quest to be in gymnastics. It was a good reminder to me that sometimes competence in something (like ballet) doesn’t necessarily equate to feeling content. I have a lot to learn from my five year old!