Quality time with the boy

Yesterday, I spent an enjoyable afternoon with my son at our first gymnastics meet. Jared recently was invited to join the Boys Gymanstics team and now spends 6 hours a week at the gym, which he loves! This Saturday was the first of this season's competitions, and even though he is not competing yet, we decided to check it out to see what his (& our) future holds. I had no idea what to expect when we showed up - I figured we would stay about an hour and then head home. I did not anticipate spending 4 hours sitting on hard, plastic bleachers watching 100+ boys rotate through 6 apparatus. (I marveled later how it can be that simply sitting on your rear end for hours manages to deplete all of your energy.)

Numb tushy notwithstanding, we had a great time together. I honestly expected him to lose interest quickly, especially since he is just itching to compete and it can be torturous to watch others do something you love while you are relegated to the sidelines. This is also the child who basks in the limelight and who craves to be the center - in fact, on the way to the meet he was musing about this very thing and questioning whether I thought it selfish for him to feel this way. Said he emphatically, "I want people to notice me. I want them to notice me for the things that I do well." Is this not the human condition? Yet, how many of us would dare to say it out loud? I want people to notice me! What if we all could be as honest as a child and really know ourselves?

But let me now return from that tangent ...

Jared, as he often does, surprised me and wanted to stay through the entire competition, including the lengthy awards ceremony that took place afterwards. I must confess I checked with him often, "Are you sure you don't want to go now?" Nope. He happily cheered on his teammates, authoritatively critiqued others' technique (always prefaced with a kind, "No offense, but..."), and oohed & aahed over the skillful displays of athleticism. At one point, he wistfully stated how he wished he had only begun gymnastics when he was younger.

It was wonderful and I wouldn't trade our time spent together for anything (not even for the Saturday crossword, a soft couch, a quiet house and a piece of dark chocolate!)