A teary goodbye

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flippymonkeysmom

Well, dd had her very first cheer practice yesterday and then went to her gym to say her goodbye's. She was so nervous before going. We went right at the end of team practice and the second she walked through the door the whole team stopped what they were doing and ran over to her with lots of hugs. Her coaches were really great. The coach she is closest with had a hard time though - you could tell she was holding back tears. She told my dd that she understands and that she loves her and always will and made her promise to come visit often. The other coaches pretty much said the same. They all told her if she ever wanted to come just to work out she is welcome to and that the door is always open for her if she decides to return. My dd held up surprisingly well - I couldn't believe she wasn't a blubbering mess saying goodbye to everyone. Then of course when we got home and she saw there were no italian ices left in the freezer she broke down and cried (can we say misdirected emotion anyone).

As far as the first cheer practice - that was just hysterically funny. Watching them try to get her to do cheer arms instead of poses and pretty gymnastics fingers was priceless. Anyway - we made the right decision with the team we put her on. At least half the team is the same age as her and they were all so welcoming and supportive. She had a lot of fun. I asked her if she had any regrets or second thoughts and she said no.

What a roller coaster of emotions last night way !!!!!
 
I am so glad that she is happy - even if the happiness is on the dark side :D

that is what matters is that they are happy and enjoying what they are doing. Keep us posted on cheer season.
 
I am so happy for you guys!!! It is always very sad saying goodbye-for everyone involved. I am very glad to hear that her coaches took it very well also and fully support her decision. That is how it was when my dd made the switch from cheer to gymnastics. Her cheer coaches were very supportive and actually thought that it would be a great move for her. They knew that she was having trouble with her tumbling and since they came from a gymnastics background they knew what great training and attention to detail gymnasts got. They said that she is welcome back to cheer at the gym anytime and they hope to see her cheer again when she is older. I think the cheer gyms and gymnastics gyms have an understanding of each other's disciplines to the point where they often find kids switching back and forth throughout their lives.

Good luck to your dd! I am glad she found a great team to be part of and she is going to have so much fun!!! LOL cheer arms vs pretty gymnastics fingers!! I love it! Have her watch Bring It On a few times...then she will learn all about SPIRIT FINGERS!!!! LOL Just make sure she doesn't salute the judges after her tumbling pass!!!!!!!
 
Sigh! I am happy it went well, but I also 'get' the huge range of emotions you & DD must be feeling! It's exhausting, and will probably last a while, and those emotions may even come & go in spurts. Better be ready w/ those italian ices! Stock that freezer!

Boy, do I get the 'misdirected emotion' thing here! I think our DD's are same age (12, right?). It's pretty funny sometimes what my DD decides to cry about. I am sitting there going "ok, I know she's crying about something ELSE, but WHAT the heck could it be...?" :scratchchin:

Well, as I said before, I am sad to lose you, but I know you will be back to keep us up-to-date, and to give us advice (you'd better, or else!). :fryingpan:

Take care, & good luck to DD w/ those cheer arms!

P.S. I just have one question for all you 'switching back & forth from cheer to gym' types. Besides having to learn those cheer arms, how do you deal w/ those 'cheer faces' :slaphappy: :sly: :razz: :eye-popping: :yikes: :cheeky: ?! I think this alone would scare my DD far away from that sport! ;)
 
LOL!! The cheer faces, or facials, as they are called, are so much fun!!! They can get annoying at times--sometimes it looks like they are trying to catch flies with their mouths open so wide!! But the girls look so cute with all the "Attitude" in the pictures! And when dd switched to gymnastics her coach had to work with her on breaking the habit of doing the "slap, clap" before each tumbling pass! Then when she would end her last tumbling pass in the floor routine, she would always get "scolded" for striking a cheer pose instead of the graceful gymnastics pose! She is getting better with adjusting to the transition. And actually, I kind of like the "spunkiness" that she adds to the gymnastics routines from being in cheer for so long!!!
 
I don't think my dd knows she is going to have to do cheer faces yet - but just the thought of it almost made me fall off my chair laughing. She also will have to get over the makeup thing - she absolutely hates makeup - never even played with it as a kid, hates the way it feels on her face, etc. I'll cross these bridges when we get to them.

mls529 - my dd is 11 - but the same thing is going on. Everyday right before she gets home from school I wonder which kid is going to be walking through the door - my sweet little girl or the tween with attitude, lol.

This morning I am having a tough time with all the emotion. Every time I think about her not doing gym any more I just want to cry. Before this whole thing with her wrist she was doing so amazingly well. She was going to kick some serious butt competing level 7 this year. She was getting some other amazing skills as well. Before she left she was consistently sticking her double front tucks. Then at the same time I am happy for her that she will have time to be a normal kid and hang out with her friends. Talk about mood swings - I just got back from running and anyone watching my 'facials' would have thought I was a mental patient - going from smiling to myself to holding back tears.
 
Oh, I forgot to tell you Flippymonkeysmom--they have "Tumble-Off" competitions at cheer competitions. It is done by age groups. The kids that enter just do the best tumbling pass that they want on a tumble strip and they get ribbons for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. During Awards, they announce the winners and the winner gets to do the winning pass in front of everyone!! It's really fun to watch! You need to enter your dd--she'd win for sure!!! They will be amazed by her beautiful gymnastics tumbling!!!!
 
This morning I am having a tough time with all the emotion. Every time I think about her not doing gym any more I just want to cry. Before this whole thing with her wrist she was doing so amazingly well. She was going to kick some serious butt competing level 7 this year. She was getting some other amazing skills as well. Before she left she was consistently sticking her double front tucks. Then at the same time I am happy for her that she will have time to be a normal kid and hang out with her friends. Talk about mood swings - I just got back from running and anyone watching my 'facials' would have thought I was a mental patient - going from smiling to myself to holding back tears.

This is a loss for you, no doubt about it! You had dreams for her for this season, and now you are letting go. Perfectly healthy & normal! I mean, we shouldn't live vicariously thru our kids, BUT, we CAN dream, and we do have hopes, and pretty good ideas of what they may be up to/capable of, in the near future. It's what we do w/ all that emotional stuff that counts. And you are doing the right thing. You are willing to let go of your hopes/aspirations for her, in favor of letting her decide where to focus her talents/interests. Now, if you were furious w/ her, playing mind games w/ her, or letting it get in the way of your relationship w/ her, then we'd be having to knock some sense into ya! :fryingpan: But of course, that is so not how you are! :)

Do make sure you take care of YOU through this. Running-great idea! Going to coffee w/ a friend, needlepoint, whatever you enjoy. Do extra of that stuff, you need it! Oh, and make sure your hubby pampers you too, never hurts to play that card while you can! :sly:
 
I don't think my dd knows she is going to have to do cheer faces yet - but just the thought of it almost made me fall off my chair laughing. She also will have to get over the makeup thing - she absolutely hates makeup - never even played with it as a kid, hates the way it feels on her face, etc. I'll cross these bridges when we get to them.

mls529 - my dd is 11 - but the same thing is going on. Everyday right before she gets home from school I wonder which kid is going to be walking through the door - my sweet little girl or the tween with attitude, lol.

This morning I am having a tough time with all the emotion. Every time I think about her not doing gym any more I just want to cry. Before this whole thing with her wrist she was doing so amazingly well. She was going to kick some serious butt competing level 7 this year. She was getting some other amazing skills as well. Before she left she was consistently sticking her double front tucks. Then at the same time I am happy for her that she will have time to be a normal kid and hang out with her friends. Talk about mood swings - I just got back from running and anyone watching my 'facials' would have thought I was a mental patient - going from smiling to myself to holding back tears.

It can be an emotional rollercoaster, believe me. I still watch dd's cheer routine dvd's and ALWAYS tear up and start to cry. Not only because she is not doing cheer now and to be honest, I do miss it a bit, but also because they show so much emotion in the routine and they truely cheer their little hearts out--they have so much fun performing and working together as a team (I'm getting teary-eyed just thinking about it). Flippymonkeysmom--you will have so much fun as a cheer mom! You will still get the same excitement by watching her with cheer as you did with gymnastics. I have found that the excitement of watching dd hit a new stunt in cheer is totally relatable to watching her get a new skill on bars or beam! Oh, and just wait till you get to the competitions--the energy of the crowd while your dd's team is performing is unbelieveable and priceless!! I know it is hard and I still find myself going back and forth with the emotions between cheer and gymnastics but it is all fun and the important thing is that your daughter is having fun and loving it!! The best of luck to you and dd!! Keep us posted as always!
 
Hands down cheer comps are the most fun to go to. We went to a gymnastics comp a couple weeks ago and oldest DD asked why everyone was doing the same routines....lol. We will be attending the Season Opener comp so big DD can see her friends and watch their routines. Every once in awhile she asks if she can do cheer again but i think its just because synchro is a hard sport to learn.
You are going to have so much fun! And yes cheer faces are silly, my DD always got flack because she refused to make those crazy faces (blowing kisses, ect.) Her favorite one to do was after her cross pass she would point to the crowd and then put her hand to her ear like a phone (like saying "call me"). Her coaches loved that one.

Good luck this season! Those Youth level 5 teams are amazing to watch because all the kids are 11 or under (as of May 31st)! On Youtube there are a couple routines and seeing 8 year olds hit fulls is crazy:eek:
 
Mine's 10 and is going through those emotional "episodes" too!

Well, you'll have to let us know with her switching to cheer if it increases the interest in boys! My DD always says that she doesn't have time with gym, so I'm afraid of her having any more time on her hands than she does!

Hopefully you get to post a video of her cheering sometime. Are those competitions longer or shorter than gym meets? I barely make it through the 5 hour meets, don't know how I'd do if it was longer!
 
:hug: My dd is having the mood swings and when she cranky so I now ask her what she's really upset about since it probably has nothing to do with what she's freaking out over
 
Best of luck to flippymonkey in her newest endeavor :) Cheerleaders with gymnastics backgrounds are the best cheerleaders there are :)
 
Flippy - I wish you and DD the best of luck. I hope you will stick around and offer words of wisdom and encouragement from time to time! Your posts make me smile.

I get teary eyed just thinking of how hard it would be to leave the sport. I have heard it is harder on the parents than the kids.

I want to hear how she is doing!

Hugs to both of you!
K
 
P.S. I just have one question for all you 'switching back & forth from cheer to gym' types. Besides having to learn those cheer arms, how do you deal w/ those 'cheer faces' :slaphappy: :sly: :razz: :eye-popping: :yikes: :cheeky: ?! I think this alone would scare my DD far away from that sport! ;)

That made me laugh!

Flippy,

I am so glad she is happy and doing well (even if it is on the darkside:p) I know it was hard for her to say goodbye. When we were going away for a month, my DD's had a super hard time saying goodbye. Even if she is still in cheer- those gym memories will still be with her. Just look at those "cheer hands";)

Take Care!!
 

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