You know that feeling you get when you're sitting at your desk at work and the phone rings with the caller ID of your kids' school?
We have four kids at the same school, so the odds are never in our favor. Swiping my phone, my pulse increased a little as I wondered who and what...was someone in trouble, sick, hurt? The school never calls just to say hi, so I answered with apprehension.
Hello?
The school nurse responded pleasantly, (which is never a good sign). "Good morning! I am here with Lauren Elizabeth and you might want to head this way."
This is where I should mention that our 7th grade daughter has been on a competitive team with the most amazing gym, working endlessly for an entire year. They qualified for a National Competition called "The Summit" which anyone in the cheer world knows is, a big one.
Hearing Lauren Elizabeth's small voice in the background call out, "I'm okay!" My heart sank. What happened? The nurse did her best to explain without getting into too many details in front of our daughter so not to worry her, but I got the impression the nurse felt her hand/finger were broken.
Hanging up, I rushed to my car, phone in hand as I attempted to call my husband, but Adam beat me to it. "I'm already on my way to her, head home and we'll go from there," he blurted out until 15 minutes later, he called again stating, "Don't go home, go straight to urgent care, we're almost there now."
This isn't happening.
Pulling in, I ran as a polite woman at the front desk walked me back to our daughter.
We have four kids at the same school, so the odds are never in our favor. Swiping my phone, my pulse increased a little as I wondered who and what...was someone in trouble, sick, hurt? The school never calls just to say hi, so I answered with apprehension.
Hello?
The school nurse responded pleasantly, (which is never a good sign). "Good morning! I am here with Lauren Elizabeth and you might want to head this way."
This is where I should mention that our 7th grade daughter has been on a competitive team with the most amazing gym, working endlessly for an entire year. They qualified for a National Competition called "The Summit" which anyone in the cheer world knows is, a big one.
Hearing Lauren Elizabeth's small voice in the background call out, "I'm okay!" My heart sank. What happened? The nurse did her best to explain without getting into too many details in front of our daughter so not to worry her, but I got the impression the nurse felt her hand/finger were broken.
Hanging up, I rushed to my car, phone in hand as I attempted to call my husband, but Adam beat me to it. "I'm already on my way to her, head home and we'll go from there," he blurted out until 15 minutes later, he called again stating, "Don't go home, go straight to urgent care, we're almost there now."
This isn't happening.
Pulling in, I ran as a polite woman at the front desk walked me back to our daughter.
She had her left hand covered and when I asked to see it, she showed me this...
Ummmmm, yeah.
Needless to say, the doctor ordered the obligatory X rays, which resulted in her hand being broken in two places. This is when Lauren Elizabeth began to cry for the first time. He tried to comfort her stating how he knew it hurt, but she shook her head simply saying, "Summit".
Her mind raced with how she could still compete.
I grew up in Southeastern Ohio where we lived as kids with the mentality of "just rub some dirt on it" for any injury. I have a best friend who broke one arm and learned to tumble with using only the other for the rest of the season. (Hi Amy) :) Is this a healthy mentality? Absolutely not, but it's how we were.
That being said, Adam and I didn't see how it was possible for Lauren Elizabeth to compete. She begged to talk to her coach and at least try. This is where as a parent you consider all of the options while being exponentially thankful for having the best people in your child's life. The gym is so positive and supportive, we knew if there was anyway a coach could make things happen, her coach could.
Going to Florida, there was no drama, no guilt or blame which can be so prevalent in competitive team sports. Her teammates genuinely wanted to make sure she was OK as her coach approached her, giving her a quick hug while saying, "Let's go, we're going to figure out how to make this work".
The ESPN Sports Center at Disney gave each team 15 minutes of floor time to practice.
15 minutes.
Her coaches had to take a routine the team had worked on for a year and figure out how to rearrange things so she didn't use her left hand. If not, they would instead need to understandably pull her from the competition altogether. It was the longest 15 minutes - waiting outside in the muggy Florida heat, eager to see what her expression would be when they finished and came out of practice.
She was beaming. Her coaches worked it out so she did standing back tucks and altered her positions so her left hand never had an ounce of pressure.
How they did it, I'll never know, but what I'm sure of, is so many times teams or gyms treat their athletes as being completely replaceable. It creates a feeling that they simply don't matter any more than the next competition or win. When push comes to shove, her coaches not only covered her in love and support, they made her feel necessary and irreplaceable. You couldn't ask for more in the development of a child.
Friday morning came, the team performed an amazing routine, securing a spot in the final round of the competition on Sunday.
She had never been to the finals and her heart soared as she prepared for the day.
Giving a powerful performance, the routine hit again and it would've been next to impossible to find a more elated group of kids, parents or coaches on earth.
We're back home now, back to normal and back to the daily grind. We'll always look back on the weekend with fondness and wonder though.
The good that came out of the experience was to learn that life will always throw curveballs your way, the key is to figure out how to work through them. More importantly, it taught her the value of surrounding yourself with good people. People who will support you, protect you and defend you even when things aren't perfect.
She will carry this weekend with her throughout her life knowing that in relationships with friends, school, sports, jobs, no matter what, to know your worth. Treat others with love, respect and support and protect the ones you care about...while always, always, surrounding yourself with the same in return.
Thank You to the Coaches and Teammates who made the experience one of the best of her life.
Needless to say, the doctor ordered the obligatory X rays, which resulted in her hand being broken in two places. This is when Lauren Elizabeth began to cry for the first time. He tried to comfort her stating how he knew it hurt, but she shook her head simply saying, "Summit".
Her mind raced with how she could still compete.
I grew up in Southeastern Ohio where we lived as kids with the mentality of "just rub some dirt on it" for any injury. I have a best friend who broke one arm and learned to tumble with using only the other for the rest of the season. (Hi Amy) :) Is this a healthy mentality? Absolutely not, but it's how we were.
That being said, Adam and I didn't see how it was possible for Lauren Elizabeth to compete. She begged to talk to her coach and at least try. This is where as a parent you consider all of the options while being exponentially thankful for having the best people in your child's life. The gym is so positive and supportive, we knew if there was anyway a coach could make things happen, her coach could.
Going to Florida, there was no drama, no guilt or blame which can be so prevalent in competitive team sports. Her teammates genuinely wanted to make sure she was OK as her coach approached her, giving her a quick hug while saying, "Let's go, we're going to figure out how to make this work".
The ESPN Sports Center at Disney gave each team 15 minutes of floor time to practice.
15 minutes.
Her coaches had to take a routine the team had worked on for a year and figure out how to rearrange things so she didn't use her left hand. If not, they would instead need to understandably pull her from the competition altogether. It was the longest 15 minutes - waiting outside in the muggy Florida heat, eager to see what her expression would be when they finished and came out of practice.
She was beaming. Her coaches worked it out so she did standing back tucks and altered her positions so her left hand never had an ounce of pressure.
How they did it, I'll never know, but what I'm sure of, is so many times teams or gyms treat their athletes as being completely replaceable. It creates a feeling that they simply don't matter any more than the next competition or win. When push comes to shove, her coaches not only covered her in love and support, they made her feel necessary and irreplaceable. You couldn't ask for more in the development of a child.
Friday morning came, the team performed an amazing routine, securing a spot in the final round of the competition on Sunday.
She had never been to the finals and her heart soared as she prepared for the day.
Giving a powerful performance, the routine hit again and it would've been next to impossible to find a more elated group of kids, parents or coaches on earth.
We're back home now, back to normal and back to the daily grind. We'll always look back on the weekend with fondness and wonder though.
The good that came out of the experience was to learn that life will always throw curveballs your way, the key is to figure out how to work through them. More importantly, it taught her the value of surrounding yourself with good people. People who will support you, protect you and defend you even when things aren't perfect.
She will carry this weekend with her throughout her life knowing that in relationships with friends, school, sports, jobs, no matter what, to know your worth. Treat others with love, respect and support and protect the ones you care about...while always, always, surrounding yourself with the same in return.
Thank You to the Coaches and Teammates who made the experience one of the best of her life.
RSS Feed