welcome to...

I stood in the night with the building tight and tall rising silently up behind me like a giant ship sleeping in its moors.  I watched the crowd of parents about to be its long term passengers as they tried to comprehend the importance of the meeting going on before them. Life jackets not yet required.  Welcome to Compulsory Team Gymnastics.

I wondered exactly what they were hearing sitting on folding chairs in a parking lot the traffic of 33rd buzzing by.  What information did they think they needed to hear and what did they consider unnecessary.

Each of them clutched their packet of papers and a placement letter.  They leaned forward in their seats looking into an unknown future somewhere out there.

Some had dreamed of this moment. Others were totally caught off guard. A few missed the whole point. All of them stared at the numbers.

Welcome to the world of competitive gymnastics. 

The first thing you will notice (after the cost) is the pronouns. Let me clear this up for you.  The gym owner will say your placement letter, your schedule, your team account.  This is not a mistake although we often joke that it is.

Yes, it may sound more correct to say your daughter's or your athlete's, especially when talking about leos but that would be misleading.  Gymnastics is a sport that creates its own gravity.  Once you accept that your child is a gymnast the course of your life and your family's life will be altered.  You and your whole world will be on that giant cruise ship.

Dinner time will change.  Vacations will change.  Appointments, shopping lists, clothing purchases, birthdays, holidays, weekends, schooling, it all changes.  Maybe not all at once but it will happen.

And yes, it's true your child will get in trouble for being late even though she is 7 years old... Her coaches expect her to be on time because they respect her enough as an athlete to value and protect her workout time.

I look back at the life we had in compulsory (Lv 2-5).  An every other day sort of thing.  Meet season was short enough.  It seemed big.  We lived around gymnastics like it was the sun on holiday.  Our days starting and ending with it.

Then came the Optionals (Lv 6-10) with its 5+ days a week with travel meets.  And Regional Meets.  And because Beach is awesome! Westerns Championships.  So more like the sun on a hiking trip through death valley. Hot, so damn hot, and always there!

Practices. Upgrades. Injuries. Grips. Rips. Leos. Tape. The right flavor of Gatorade. Camps. Showcases. Backpacks. Beam bites. TSA lines. New skills. New bruises. Extra-extra practices. Routines. Water bottles. Heel cups. Clinics. Conditioning. Ice. ER visits. College coaches. Judges. Start values. Phone calls. Meet hair. Teammates. Chalk. Bad days. Good days. All days.

Within this world is you, your family, a few good friends, and your child- the child that picked this path for all of you.

Dear Parents: Our job is to stand behind our daughters- not in front of them. To cheer for them, to feed them good food and lots of love.  To offer shelter in the form of "not gymnastics" things.  Walk with them.  Listen to them.  Give them a second thing- art, music, science, theater, etc. Read to them- even when they are big and "too old".  And to the mothers, put on our swimsuits and swim with them without rolling our eyes at our own bodies as we pass our reflection in the mirror.

Your daughter has chosen to work. To work hard while others play.  I'm not supposed to say they are sacrificing but rather say they are exchanging or... I don't remember the other word... but this isn't the easy way.  Respect her as an athlete.  Love her as a child. Then look out at all those other girls out there, our gym, their gym, that gym, and do the same thing to them; respect them, love them.

And whether or not they "make it", the pay off for just being here is huge. The life lessons, the life skills, that thing that makes people turn their head to watch Beach as walks through the mall, that is the gold in this sport: Confidence, power, poise, strength.

Your other job as a parent is to keep your family culture going. At times it's like threading May Pole in a hurricane but it is possible.

Beach is our youngest so I can't pretend I know how it is to balance the needs of younger siblings. What I know is the number of times I have yelled at her older brother, "Stop wrestling with her she is expensive!" The number of times I tell my older kids "I'm sorry I can't something-something Beach something-something gymnastics".

When you have a competitive athlete time is the most precious luxury around.  Protect your family time- quality over quantity.  Your extended family will not understand, your neighbors will not believe you. Teachers will scoff and other parents will judge you. None of that matters.

The balance is hard. On one hand, it is just another youth sport but on the other, it is the proving ground for your child's future.

As a parent who has been here a long time, I say welcome to the cult of gymnasts.  Welcome to the hardest but most rewarding and amazing adventure you (and your family) will ever go on.

Welcome the family.