She's Got Spirit - Yes She Does! UPDATED

Grace loves to cheer.  She loves the chants and loves the motions. During football season she spends hours making up her own cheers and chants.  She is a sideline cheerleader - the cheerleader you see at the football games cheering on her home team.  She loves the poms and has learned quite a bit about football just standing in the sidelines waiting for her team to score ---- cause that meant the cheer squad could do her favorite cheer.  Fall cheer ended right before Thanksgiving - and Grace won the Spirit Award for her "good attitude and sportsmanship and leadership on the cheer team". Best. Award.  Ever.

Now it's time for spring cheer.  This is new for her.  The new youth team we joined in the fall is having a spring cheer class - a conditioning class so to speak.  Of course we signed up!  

Tonight was the first class. She came home smiling - she met a new friend, a couple of her teammates from the fall were there, and her coaches gave her a big hug.  

"But I totally embarrassed myself Mom.  I can't even do a backward roll or cartwheel.  So embarrassing".  That's what she focused on when she got home.  

For years we avoided sports and athletics ----- with Marfan Syndrome there are just so many things that could happen so we never put her in any activity that carried too much risk or that we would have to take away later on.  We never encouraged strengthening exercises.  And now our girl is paying for that.   

The mom in me is sad that she was embarrassed.   The mom in me is also so proud of her ---- I asked her if she was so embarrassed that she didn't want to go back.  She looked at me like I was crazy and said "Mom!!  Of course I am going back!"   Even after feeling like she is the only one who can't do something, my girl is going back and trying again.  

And this mama is going to help her.  Her need for strengthening exercises and my need to rid myself of these last few baby pounds will be partners ----- her goal is my goal: cartwheel by the end of spring cheer.  Simple and obtainable.  

My girl rocks. That Spirit Award was - and continues to be - well deserved.  

Update:  It may not be perfect.  She may not get a 10 from a gymnastics judge.  But my girl can do a cartwheel!!!!!  She worked hard.  She was patient.  And she did the very very best she could do.  I am a proud cheer mom!