when *alyssa* first approached me about the possibility of lily trying out for the central coast elite cheer team, she might as well have told me she had baby unicorns for sale in the back of her truck. i was honestly that shocked. i tried to hide my smirk and feign interest as she went on and on about what a great program it was and how she has had her eye on lily for awhile and how much fun she would have and blah blah blah. i nodded politely as i inwardly wondered where she got her hot pink nike frees (don't be surprised if you see me in a pair in the near future) and whether or not she was naturally blond. i left with a thick packet of papers, made some jokes to my friends about it, and pretty much forgot all about it.
it's not that i hate cheerleading, its just that i hate cheerleading. okay, so maybe i don't hate it as much as i just don't understand it. which is typically defined as ignorance. and in this case, ignorance, truly was, bliss. my limited experience with cheer was the four we had in high school, who as my shooting guard described, 'made it really difficult to hear coach telling us what play to run in the huddle.' now don't get me wrong, i'll take any fans i can get, and the cheerleaders themselves were just fine, in fact i'm close friends with a couple of super hot, former high school cheerleader sisters today. its just never what i would have imagined for my own daughter.
which, really is very stupid if i think about it. cuz if i really thought about it, knowing what i know about lily, the real question is how could she not do cheer? yet with my pride still raging, i tossed the cheer packet aside and resolved not to discuss it any further. i was content with lily's progress in gymnastics, she seemed to really be making some strides lately, why mess with a good thing? well, you mess with a good thing when you hear your 6 year old telling friend and foe alike that she's starting cheer. and then a week later, you're hanging poolside and hear your phone ring and recognize the number but can't place it and take a chance on answering it. lo and behold, alyssa's sweet alpha phi voice melodiously asks if we've given any more thought to cheer. maybe it was the margarita talking (yes it was noon on tuesday, don't judge me. i was at the elks) but i decided to be honest with her. i told her how i just wasn't sure, cuz i played sports (wrong thing to say) and i just wasn't sure about the time and money commitment. after she ripped me a new one about how much cheer was a sport and guilt tripped me into just letting lily try it, i dutifully conceded.
as i pondered how i was going to break the news to brandon, i realized a few things about how vainglorious i was being. i realized if it had been ANY OTHER sport, i would have dropped everything to make it happen. i would have sold stock to pay for it, spent my weekends traveling with the team, figured out ways to get lily to and from practice-- whatever it would take, cuz sports are really that important to me. the more i thought about it, the more i realized what a hypocrite i was being. how can i really encourage my child to be an individual and think for herself and instill confidence in her making her own decisions, when i'm the one dictating what she can and can't like, or worse what is or isn't 'cool.' that's crappy parenting, and i blow it enough to know that i can't blow it on something so glaringly obvious. the right thing to do was to give lily a chance at cheer and support her whole heartedly in it.
so when tuesday finally rolled around and i broke the news that today was the day to try cheer, she looked right at me and told me she just wanted to stick with gymnastics. shocked as i was, my heart lept with joy as i thought, god must be on my side! i was faithful in giving it a chance and he shut the door. i was ready to let it die, but my conscience pricked me. i had to talk this thing thru with her. and wouldn't ya know, before i knew it, i was practically begging her just to try it. begging might be an overstatement, but you get it. my change of heart was surprising to even me. next thing you know, lily dials in the perfect cheer outfit, kisses me goodbye and heads out with the team. i watched her off and on long enough to know that she was really enjoying herself. and like the good coach she is, alyssa came to chat with me a bit before practice ended. she was sweet, and gracious and told me that its been hard to get people to understand what cheer really is. and for those of you like me making flash judgments -- it really is a combination between gymnastics and dance. they learn choreographed routines and incorporate tumbling and dance. when done right, its actually pretty bad ass. as for my concern/lily's absolute delight in the amount of make up they have to wear, alyssa easily explained to me that 'its so the judges can see their faces.' what? just when i was starting to like her. does that even make sense? anyhow, i digress. the talk went well, and just when i was starting to maybe get on board, we got to the ol price point. i basically came away realizing that i need to be a venture capitalist to afford cheer. yet as i sat there watching her smiling and well, learning cheer, i realized even if its only for today, it was worth it. the clock hits 5:30 and she comes bounding over to me and says, 'mom, i loved it. i really, really loved it.' finally, i did something right.
*names have been changed to protect the innocent, and not so innocent*
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4 comments:
You are always amazing me as a human and as a mom. It stakes guts to acknowledge our challenges as parents and most parents do not see beyond their blinders (so-to-speak). But not you! You are unafraid of admitting fault which makes you an awesome person, parent, and dare I say Christian (Andrew Murray comes to mind here...). I am pro-cheer because I am pro-possibility! It is so imporant for kids to feel apart of something, especially when they know they can excel at it. In addition to Lily's faith, she now has cheer.....both communities welcome her with love and hope!
Did I say stakes? I meant takes!
Seems like 'anonymous' couldn't have said it better. And Holls, as usual, you are freaking hilarious!
I am not a mom, but I totally relate to your feelings toward cheer. I played sports growing up and really hope my kids will like sports. I may need a counseling session when one day my daughter wants to do cheer.
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