on a less solemn note....
we finished the winter session of gymnastics yesterday.
i can vividly recall sitting at our kitchen table with the yellow pages back in January 2007. Kiara was only a few months old and Aidan had more energy than he could handle. it was also cold! no playground days and we both needed something. his library group and kids morning out groups were not enough for him! and me. i jotted notes while i called pretty much every gymnastics club in the city. in the end we all ended up going to a 'parent and tot' program.
wee little Kiara would watch from her infant car seat most days. the program required parents to assist their own children, and the instructor would help with the more "dangerous" manoeuvres (as when they were doing a somersault or the rings). i also recall having to stop and feed Kiara a few of the times. even though i planned her feedings around the classes, it just seemed like she got hungry just watching the kids. it was oh, so blissful when she did sleep for the class. often i would wear my Baby Bjorn and carry her on the course. it was a little tricky at times. i still remember how exhausted i was at the end of the class! funny how tired a mother becomes trying to tire out her toddler.
the next year, Aidan was still too young to be on his own and Kiara was too little to be worth paying to participate. as it happened we got a time slot that was late afternoon and the gym was crazy busy. at the same time Kristian had changed jobs and was working all days of the week. halfway through the session, Kiara was getting to tough to watch and allow me to properly help Aidan. i left her with a sitter when it was possible. one day i managed to get a sitter to come with me and play with her. i think that experience nearly made the new babysitter retire entirely! a little extra cash made her forget the trouble.
and i was proud of myself for remembering this important tidbit of information.
then Aidan was invited to join the "Super-Tot" program because he had some talent. for the spring session. he now has a 90 minute session while Kiara is at 60 minutes. this sounds so familiar! the day i made my final decision to not follow my own advice and stop in April, he did a super manoeuvre that made me realize that i made the right choice. on his own he did a "pull-over". which the coaches informed me was very rare for a child his age. Aidan has been on cloud9 because he is "super" and Kristian and i are saving for the olympic program. ha! just kidding. as it happens, the good gymnastic gene is genetic from his Daddy. i was trained to be fearful of heights, cartwheels and any other physical movement on land, water or sky. Kristian has had his work cut out to "un-train"me. laugh.
Kiara has some days where she can walk across this beam with confidence. only to be stricken with intense fear the next. perhaps there is some of my genetics in them after all. in all irony, what does this height-fearing mother do? tell her that there is no danger and to go do it anyway. after all, she had no issues with this when she was 9 months or 2 years old.
my plan is to prepare Kiara for the wait much as i made Aidan wait when he was this age. a snack, special drink and an activity bag. i will bring a book or magazine. and if all else fails, she can watch Dora on my iPod. nothing will prevent me from sitting, with minimal interruption from my most deserved 30 minute break. unless it is watching Aidan practice. which i have missed for the past 18 months. i have had to stop thinking about next September. when BOTH will be in un-parented classes. the only stress i will have remaining is to be forced to watch both of them perform tricky stunts and hope that they listen to the instructions.
has it only been 3 years of gymnastics? because it has felt MUCH longer than that. apparently toddlers with inconsistent listening skills will do that to you. in the past year we often have at least one parent who has 2 young kids in the class - like i did. i recognize the look of "what did i just do to myself?!" in their eyes. then i remind them that it does get better. true.
lately Kiara has been inserting her gymnastics routines with dance. she is not in dance class. yet. (fortunately that should provide me with another hour of sitting and watching.)
i should add that it is not the physical activity that is exhausting...it is the intense 60 minutes of encouraging a willful toddler to stay focused....and perform the routine as asked, and as you know she is capable of achieving.
i also realize that i may look at the moms with young kids and wish (for a moment) that i was back in that time of my life again. these days they often have accomplishments that happen while they are at school or when i am away from them. it was a wonderful gift to be able to spend these early years with them and be a part of their big developmental milestones.
i would do it all over again. they are both more confident. it is amazing to watch them do things that i never imagined possible. in my training for my B.Ed. degree we never went into this much detail in the gymnastics component. i am not aware of any school that has the money to put towards this equipment either. i got well educated as well. it was worth all the sweat and tears and dollars!!
i don't know what next year will hold. Aidan will be away at school all day. Kiara will still be free to do afternoon and some morning activities. i am looking forward to much that this next phase will offer. but it will present new challenges like choosing which activity to participate in. soon enough they will have their favourites and we'll need to decide which will work best for the family. secretly, Kristian and i can't wait to re-enter the triathlon world. this time with kids in tow. (don't worry, Carol, we'll teach them to be fast in the transition and not treat it like locker time! wink!!)
but for today, we will take on the challenges they give us and enjoy the moment.
we finished the winter session of gymnastics yesterday.
i can vividly recall sitting at our kitchen table with the yellow pages back in January 2007. Kiara was only a few months old and Aidan had more energy than he could handle. it was also cold! no playground days and we both needed something. his library group and kids morning out groups were not enough for him! and me. i jotted notes while i called pretty much every gymnastics club in the city. in the end we all ended up going to a 'parent and tot' program.
wee little Kiara would watch from her infant car seat most days. the program required parents to assist their own children, and the instructor would help with the more "dangerous" manoeuvres (as when they were doing a somersault or the rings). i also recall having to stop and feed Kiara a few of the times. even though i planned her feedings around the classes, it just seemed like she got hungry just watching the kids. it was oh, so blissful when she did sleep for the class. often i would wear my Baby Bjorn and carry her on the course. it was a little tricky at times. i still remember how exhausted i was at the end of the class! funny how tired a mother becomes trying to tire out her toddler.
the next year, Aidan was still too young to be on his own and Kiara was too little to be worth paying to participate. as it happened we got a time slot that was late afternoon and the gym was crazy busy. at the same time Kristian had changed jobs and was working all days of the week. halfway through the session, Kiara was getting to tough to watch and allow me to properly help Aidan. i left her with a sitter when it was possible. one day i managed to get a sitter to come with me and play with her. i think that experience nearly made the new babysitter retire entirely! a little extra cash made her forget the trouble.
i finished that year with both of them in the 6 week spring session. why? because i felt i needed to give Kiara a full opportunity to participate. ironically, she was a good listener and follower in those days. i also felt a little guilty for not paying for her session for the days when she was there following the kids around. this was not easy. it meant her playing (ie. running up and down stairs and hallways) for the hour Aidan was in class. it also meant him sitting on a bench watching Kiara for the second hour. he always had a snack and bag of activities to help prevent boredom.
i was singing hallelujahs the next year when Aidan could be in his own class, unassisted and Kiara could be in a class at her level. at the same time. half the work. half the time.
it must be a grand improvement, because i now drive nearly 20 minutes for their lessons. we have also been enrolled steady since September. usually we don't do gymnastics in the fall. it's a winter thing for us. i also made a mental note to NOT enrol in the spring session. May is fine, but by June we are sick of it!
and i was proud of myself for remembering this important tidbit of information.
then Aidan was invited to join the "Super-Tot" program because he had some talent. for the spring session. he now has a 90 minute session while Kiara is at 60 minutes. this sounds so familiar! the day i made my final decision to not follow my own advice and stop in April, he did a super manoeuvre that made me realize that i made the right choice. on his own he did a "pull-over". which the coaches informed me was very rare for a child his age. Aidan has been on cloud9 because he is "super" and Kristian and i are saving for the olympic program. ha! just kidding. as it happens, the good gymnastic gene is genetic from his Daddy. i was trained to be fearful of heights, cartwheels and any other physical movement on land, water or sky. Kristian has had his work cut out to "un-train"me. laugh.
Kiara has some days where she can walk across this beam with confidence. only to be stricken with intense fear the next. perhaps there is some of my genetics in them after all. in all irony, what does this height-fearing mother do? tell her that there is no danger and to go do it anyway. after all, she had no issues with this when she was 9 months or 2 years old.
my plan is to prepare Kiara for the wait much as i made Aidan wait when he was this age. a snack, special drink and an activity bag. i will bring a book or magazine. and if all else fails, she can watch Dora on my iPod. nothing will prevent me from sitting, with minimal interruption from my most deserved 30 minute break. unless it is watching Aidan practice. which i have missed for the past 18 months. i have had to stop thinking about next September. when BOTH will be in un-parented classes. the only stress i will have remaining is to be forced to watch both of them perform tricky stunts and hope that they listen to the instructions.
has it only been 3 years of gymnastics? because it has felt MUCH longer than that. apparently toddlers with inconsistent listening skills will do that to you. in the past year we often have at least one parent who has 2 young kids in the class - like i did. i recognize the look of "what did i just do to myself?!" in their eyes. then i remind them that it does get better. true.
lately Kiara has been inserting her gymnastics routines with dance. she is not in dance class. yet. (fortunately that should provide me with another hour of sitting and watching.)
i should add that it is not the physical activity that is exhausting...it is the intense 60 minutes of encouraging a willful toddler to stay focused....and perform the routine as asked, and as you know she is capable of achieving.
i also realize that i may look at the moms with young kids and wish (for a moment) that i was back in that time of my life again. these days they often have accomplishments that happen while they are at school or when i am away from them. it was a wonderful gift to be able to spend these early years with them and be a part of their big developmental milestones.
i would do it all over again. they are both more confident. it is amazing to watch them do things that i never imagined possible. in my training for my B.Ed. degree we never went into this much detail in the gymnastics component. i am not aware of any school that has the money to put towards this equipment either. i got well educated as well. it was worth all the sweat and tears and dollars!!
i don't know what next year will hold. Aidan will be away at school all day. Kiara will still be free to do afternoon and some morning activities. i am looking forward to much that this next phase will offer. but it will present new challenges like choosing which activity to participate in. soon enough they will have their favourites and we'll need to decide which will work best for the family. secretly, Kristian and i can't wait to re-enter the triathlon world. this time with kids in tow. (don't worry, Carol, we'll teach them to be fast in the transition and not treat it like locker time! wink!!)
but for today, we will take on the challenges they give us and enjoy the moment.
