Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Small time and liking it.

Today has me thinking. Like "deep thinking" thinking. It all started when Zeke attended a gymnastics class with his friend Kyle. Kyle's gym had "Bring a Friend Day" and Zeke was invited to check it out with Kyle. Zeke was nervous at first and even shed a few tears when he realized I wouldn't be in the gym with him, but after he saw how much fun it was, he warmed right up to it. After the class was over, his teacher raved on and on to me about Zeke's athletic skills and how he could quite possibly hang with the older kids in the 6 to 10 year-olds. Now, I know she meant this as a complement, but it just spoke volumes to me about life in general. Everyone is in a rush. A rush to get somewhere, a rush to get ahead, a rush to MAKE IT. And here it is, starting in a preschooler's gymnastics class! Zeke wasn't bored in the 3 & 4 year-old class. He was smiling and running and generally having a great time. He never once said to me that he'd like to move on to something more difficult or challenging or older. In fact, he seemed to actually enjoy just PLAYING...with no huge competition. Just innocent play. It made me think about all the pressure that will be resting on my boy's shoulders someday. And it made me realize that that pressure isn't going to start now in a gymnastics class. For now, he's going to run around with 3 and 4 year-olds. And he's not going to have to excel physically or athletically to impress me. And most of all, he's going to laugh like he means it.

1 comment:

Val said...

So true!
So many kids have parents who don't cheer from the sidelines. Most times they are screaming instructions.
When do kids just get to be kids.

England Slideshow

Fall Fun 2009

I got a lil' bored and started playing around with Zeke's pic...

Check out my slideshow from our trip to Cherry Crest Farm on 11/1/08!

Check out my slideshow from Tyler Arboretum's Pumpkin Days - 10/19/08

A Visit to the Petting Zoo at East Goshen Park - 7/29/08