Finding Their Thing

When I was  about 9 years old, I had a brief stint in a gymnastics class. I remember bits and pieces of the experience. I certainly remember being able to do the splits, with no qualms about the fact that a human's legs aren't actually designed to do that. 

Just thinking of it now makes me cringe. The girls have a few Barbie dolls that actually have hinged hips and can be contorted in a variety of interesting ways. These 35 year old hips of mine will probably one day pay the price for those early days when they tried to do the same thing.

So, long story short, gymnastics didn't last long. It wasn't because I found another activity I liked better, or that I wasn't really very good. Ok, it probably didn't help that I wasn't very good. But the reason I quit was very simple. There were a couple of mean girls and they made me stand in the back of the line every time we would line up to do the vault or balance beam. 

Yep. That's it. A few mean comments and a couple of bossy girls, and my gymnastics career was over. 

You might say I was a sensitive child. 

I am so thankful (and this is going to sound extremely strange on the surface level) that my girls are already having to deal with bullies in 1st and 3rd grade. They are learning skills right now that I never had (and still don't because let's face it, grown-up girls can be bullies, too) and they are doing an amazing job of standing up for themselves when the opportunity presents itself. But that's a whole other post for another time.

Back to gymnastics. It wasn't my thing. Neither was Brownies (Girl Scouts) or 6th grade choir. Do you want to know what my thing ended up being?? Band. Who knew!!? I actually loved playing the clarinet. And once high school rolled around and I threw flag corps into the mix, I knew I had definitely found my thing. I can say without a doubt that marching season was the highlight of my high school career. My best friends were with me. The first time I ever saw my husband was on the practice field during summer band. Band was my thing and it truly made a difference in who I am today.

I have so desperately wanted my girls to find THEIR thing. When Lauryn was about 18 months old I took her to a "Mommy and Me" music camp at TCU. Then we tried a little tumbling class when she was about 2. She was in swimming lessons at age 4 (and hated every second). I had been so diligent about helping her find her "thing" that we never really gave anything a chance. We were too busy hopping from one thing to the next.

I did the same thing with Allie. She was taking swimming lessons while she was still in diapers. (For the record, fancy swim schools require you to purchase fancy swim diapers that, let's be honest with ourselves, don't hold anything in any better than if I had wrapped her bottom in paper towels and some duct tape). 

She also tried soccer and t-ball, which we quickly realized were also not going to be her thing. At all. Ever.

All of this finally leads me to the point of this post (you're welcome).

Lauryn has been taking piano for two years. In that amount of time, we have realized that music is definitely her thing. At least, it's one of her things. She is only 8, so there is certainly time for her to find other things that she loves. She tried out for a piano ensemble group a few weeks ago. Her teacher encouraged her to try out on a harder piece of music (5th grade level). It was a challenge (which she needs sometimes) and she worked her little tail off to get it just right. We found out yesterday that not only did she make the ensemble team, but she scored a perfect 100 on her score sheet. We are insanely proud of her and I am thrilled that she has found a "thing". 

Allie has been taking gymnastics for about 5 months. This is our second attempt - at age 3 she loved it until one day she didn't. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why she all of a sudden refused to go and wanted nothing to do with it again. Then I remembered that she was 3. If you have children, you will know what that means with no further explanation needed.

So this time around, she has enjoyed it. She never complains and seems to actually have some skills to build on. Yesterday she had an evaluation and passed with flying colors - she advanced to the next skill level and is so excited! We are so incredibly proud of her. She has such coordination and strength (it's seriously scary how strong this kid is!), and gymnastics will really help to bring those qualities out in her. But I'm still a little curious as to whether or not this will be her thing. She is only six and I have to remember that my "thing" didn't happen until I was in junior high. I just want to be sure she finds it, whatever it is.

As they grow up they will try so many things, and I know some of them will work out and some will definitely not. But I think that's part of the experience. I just hope whatever their "thing" ends up being, that they will find joy in it. And hopefully there won't be any mean, bossy girls standing in their way!