Priceless

Emma had an in-house meet yesterday at her gymnastics school. The kids don't compete against each other so much as against themselves. She performed in four different events; floor exercise, balance beam, vault, and bar. In each event they evaluate the kids against what they should be able to do, and then award you a white, red, or blue ribbon accordingly. Then they award bronze, silver, or gold medals for your performance overall.

Emma earned three blue ribbons and a red for a gold medal overall. We're quite proud of her. We thought the meet would last longer than it did, so we'd planned to trade off so that the boys wouldn't have to sit through it. As it was, when I arrived with the boys for the hand-off they were nearly done. I got to watch Emma's vault, at least, and she did do quite well compared to some of the other kids I saw.

Emma, of course, was bubbling over. "I like winning!" became her mantra for the evening. Preparing for the meet has certainly increased her enthusiasm for gymnastics lately. I think she finally realized that all these things they learn actually have a point to them. She's had a blast memorizing her routines.

At any rate, it was another of those moments when you get to see just how amazing your kids are. I have no idea how far she'll go--or want to go--with gymnastics, but for now she's really enjoying herself, and learning quite a few things that will help her throughout life. It's been money well spent. Yesterday's meet was definitely a "Mastercard Moment."