Persistence

It was an interesting and coincidental day. Normally, I pick up the little girls from daycare around 4 and head home. Mike stays at work late and picks up Hannah from gymnastics around 6:30. Today, however, he went to hang with the guys after work, so I agreed (reluctantly, I admit) to pick Hannah up. This means that normally I would get the girls, go home, piddle for a few hours, load them back up, and pick Hannah up... then home to dinner, goof-off time, and then bed.

Not today. First, I got hung up at work until 5. Not a huge deal, but nixes the idea of going home before coming back to pick up Hannah. So, I get the little girls and decide that we'll go watch her practice until time to go home. Less driving time and gas, and usually a less frazzled mommy as a bonus.

We arrive at the gym around 5:45. Hannah is practicing her floor routine, which I love to watch. I've watched this skinny little girl perform floor routines for 3 years now... and it never ceases to amaze me how graceful she's become. She's a natural dancer (according to her ballet teacher, not me) but she's so long-limbed that it seems impossible that she would have that kind of control over them. God knows I didn't... still tripping over the cracks in the sidewalk.

Her coach comes over and tells me that Hannah is having trouble doing a cartwheel on the beam (you think??? Like that's hard or something??? Again - cracks in the sidewalk, people!!!). She'll do the cartwheel all the way over until it's time to put her feet back on the beam, and then she leans over the side and drops onto the floor. According to her coach, she does this intentionally for whatever reason. He has told her that unless she puts a foot on the beam, she won't get to compete in the meet this Friday. (For non-gymnastics people like me: Apparently, if you start the cartwheel but don't land a foot on the beam, you lose 1.6 points (out of 10 total). If you start the cartwheel, touch one foot to the beam, and then fall off, you only lose 0.5 points.) I get it. He's not saying she has to stick the cartwheel, just that she needs to stick a foot out there before she falls. Then he tells me she can stay until 8:30 (yes, p.m., and FYI - she starts practice at 4!) to keep trying it if she wants to. At this point it's about 6:15.

I'll be honest. My first thought is "Seriously??? Does this crap ever happen when Mike picks her up? Noooooooooo." But, I know she really wants to go to the meet, and the girls are fairly contained for the moment... so we sit.

I watch her try cartwheels on the beam for 45 minutes straight. Coaches talk to her and watch, then move on. On she goes. I call her over to ask if she wants me to get her something to eat, which I then do. She goes back to the beam until I return around 7. She eats quickly and then back on the beam she goes. She's frustrated, but continues for another 15 minutes or so.

I call her back over and tell her she's got 10 more minutes. The girls are getting rowdy and Hannah still has homework to do. She tells me she's trying, and I tell her that I know she is, but that she seems to be doing the same thing over and over. I tell her I know she wants to go to the meet, but that we can't stay any longer, so she might want to try something different for the next few minutes.

I look up just in time to see her left foot land squarely on the beam, wobble, and then fall off. I jump up and down. I ask her to do it again. She misses, jumps back on, then lands the foot again...wobbles, but stays on! I made her do it about 5 more times before we left, but by that time she wasn't frustrated anymore so it was no big deal.

Wow. Let's recap - my eight year old has the presence of mind to not only WANT to practice for 2 and a half hours straight, but also has the drive to practice the same skill for over an hour straight. What a life lesson for her... but what an eye-opener for me! I was so proud of her, not for getting the skill, but for continuing to try! On the way home, I ask her if she falls off on purpose because she's scared to put that foot on the beam. Turns out, she fell one day and skinned her elbow badly enough to keep it fresh in her mind. I get it - she can't hit the beam if her feet aren't anywhere near it.... but another teachable moment inserted itself nicely at this point. "Hannah, how long did the skinned elbow hurt?" (not very long) followed by "Your coach isn't going to let you compete unless you stick that foot on the beam. Are you scared enough for that to be okay? You can do it or not, it's your choice...but that skill is part of your routine and you can't compete without it. Are you okay with that?" (nooooooo). Prouder still.

We'll see how Wednesday goes. I hope she nails it.

Do I have that kind of persistence? I wonder...