Hard night

[Dmmetler]

The cheer gym had their show night (basically, dress rehearsal for competition, which gives an opportunity for family and friends to see the routines locally-most comps are 3+ hours away) for the first comp this coming weekend. 

 

DD and I went. It's the first time she has gone to the gym since her doctor took her off cheer and she left the team in August. She has been feeling very guilty for leaving the team, and has been concerned that everyone would hate her. She left the teen athlete forums/chats, etc, and has mostly been off social media, so she really hasn't had contact with anyone. She was surprised to discover how many people, both those who were on the team she was on this season and past teammates. She seemed genuinely happy until the team she was supposed to be on took the mat. They pulled her into their huddle, and when she returned to her seat, she was struggling to keep her composure, and as soon as the last team was done, she fled to the car. She just wasn't confident of her ability to hold it together. 

 

It hurts to see her hurting and not know what to do. Even though her knee is doing better, running around a backyard playing flashlight tag at a Halloween party caused several days of pain. She's definitely not ready to go back to something as high impact as cheer.

 

And, honestly, it has been nice not having the travel cheer schedule. I like having the ability to teach more students and not have to worry about carpools. DD has been able to spend more time with her friends, and has seemed more relaxed and overall happier, so I thought she had adjusted and this was better for her overall. Now, I'm not so sure. She's obviously lost something, and all the teen field trip groups and not having to write papers at midnight might not make up for it. 

 

 

 

[Pen]

I’m sorry it was hard.  ((((Hugs)))))

sounds nice to have been in the huddle though... 

[mommyoffive]

Oh man that sounds hard.   I am glad they had her in the huddle.  That was nice.   Sending some hugs to your dd. 

[Catwoman]

I’m so sorry. I can understand why your dd was so upset. Her team was so sweet to include her in the huddle, but I’m sure it was also a sad reminder of what she was missing.

[Soror]

One can be happy with where they are and still sad at what they've left behind. 

I bet that was hard for her!

[sassenach]

4 hours ago, Arctic Mama said:

I’m sorry, that is very hard.  I totally get it, and it was brave of her to even be willing to go watch them at all.  I also totally understand the mom side of it - it is really nice to not be traveling and so busy.

I don’t think this means she hasn’t adjusted though.  I think it’s nostalgia and missing a fun activity, and it doesn’t mean the other things aren’t fine day to day, too.  I mean, haven’t you ever been back to a place or a group you loved and left and missed it, even though you know al the good reasons why you’re not there anymore? I have!  It’s very normal, I’d say, and doesn’t mean she isn’t happy in the current set up either 🙂

I agree! I think it's both. She's still going to mourn the loss a little, but that doesn't mean she isn't adjusting or that it won't ultimately be beneficial for her to have this season of rest. 

But I get it. I have a couple of athletes and a long term injury is more than just the loss of activity. It's a whole identity shift. 

[GoodGrief]

That's so hard, especially when you aren't entirely sure where this transition is leading.

[SKL]

I understand.  Tomorrow we have an opportunity to watch my daughter's performance team do their new routine for the season.  My daughter aged out last June, and eventually quit gymnastics all together as she did not find a good fit elsewhere.  This was her favorite sport/activity up until she aged out.  I feel like we should go watch the performance, but she said she doesn't want to.  I will ask her one more time, and then respect her wishes.

[Guest]

We went to regionals this morning. It's mostly for school teams but a few of the club teams go, mostly to see how the judges like the routines (there were only about 2 categories that had more than one team, and those both had 2.) DD, again, generally had a good time, but as soon as the team she had been on left the mat, crumpled and had trouble keeping her composure.

 

It's hard to watch her go through with this-but at the same time, I'm so proud of her for being willing to and wanting to be there for her teammates-even though she can't be out there with them.

 

[Guest]

And....it just got harder. Her team earned a Summit bid this weekend. Summit is the big end of season competition. You have to score in the top 3 overall  at small comps, or the top 5 at medium ones, or win your division in huge ones to get one. Last season, they fought all year and didn't get one. This year, first comp out. It also means that she cannot go back even if her knee is perfect, unless someone else leaves-You cannot compete at summit with more people than you earned the bid with. I hate to watch her hurting.