Shout Out to the Gym Moms

Hey, Mom. We see you. 

You’re up late, washing loads of lycra, and those stinky, chalk-covered shorts, leggings, leotards and sweatshirts.  You know how to care for sore muscles, rips, and grips.  You know the quick braid, the competition hairdo, and the the just-get-your-hair-up sweaty ponytail.

You celebrate from the parent viewing room that first kip on bars, or cartwheel, or flip flop on beam.  You watch your gymnasts in awe as they do handstand pushups, and land their new dismount for the first time.

You cherish the post work-out energy burst of stories, and trampoline practice, and chalk-box stories told about weekend fun — before the crash arriving home for a late evening snack, famished by the hundreds (maybe thousands) of calories burned at practice.   

You’ve got the pre-gym snack, the during-gym snack, and post-gym late dinner, to keep your gymnast nurtured and cared for to be her best.  It’s under control.

And the driving, and driving, and driving.  

Like Gena, you probably didn’t expect that soon you’d be in the gym sixteen hours a week when your daughter attended that one (super fun) birthday party at the local rec gym.

Like Laura, you’ve had to be that steady guardrail when your daughter wanted to quit after a fall, or a bad practice; or maybe that little trial hasn’t happened for you yet. (But if it does, she’s got great advice to share.)

And like Anna, you’re always thinking about how you can support your gymnast best, to show up for your daughter where she is and where she needs you. To love and support and celebrate her freely, leaving the coaching up to the coaches. Because that’s the kind of gym mom you want to be.

Thank you for sharing your stories with us, and letting us into your gymnastics life. We see you, and we’re here with you.

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