You have become...

“One day, you’ll no longer be a person who does gymnastics, and you will become a gymnast.” Stephanie Orkowski

I remember that first class you took.
It was January 2009.
Bianca went for a trial, to see if she would like gymnastics.
Then Julian came over and asked if you wanted to join in.
"May as well" you said.
And so it began.

It was the first gymnastic class that I had ever watched.
Some running and games.
Basic stuff.
Some jumping, swings on the bars, walking across the beam.
Hanging from the rings.
It looked like heaps of fun.

And then the girls squad arrived.
Happy, laughing little girls in sparkly velvet leotards.
It was the sparkles and the velvet that hooked Bianca.
They flipped and tumbled and twirled through the air.
They did countless push ups, crunches and sit ups.
Rope climbs all the way to the ceiling... using only their arms.
Their strength was amazing.

But their flexibility made me shudder.
Chantelle stretched and pulled, pushed and adjusted.
They seemed to bend as if made of rubber.
And I just thought that surely one of them would snap.
That didn't look like so much fun.

One of their mothers saw my wide eyed amazement.
I was obviously new to all of this.
"I don't even notice it any more" she said.
I wondered how a child could be that strong, that flexible.
I wondered how you could not notice someone try to bend YOUR child in half.

One hour in class became two.
One day a week became two days a week.
You fell in love with the sport.

You were stronger.
You worked harder than I ever imagined you would.
You slowly became more flexible.
You could both do the splits.
Kodee stretched and pulled and while I may have grimaced you never did.
There were competitions and medals.
Suddenly you were a Jedi.
The senior boys squad.

At Luna Park we have fun at Coney Island.
You want to try the Joy Wheel.
A large, wooden, rotating wheel.
The aim is to stay in the middle and not slip off.
"Sit up straight" was the request.
And there you sat.
Each time in a perfect, tight L sit.
With beautifully pointed toes.
When I mentioned it afterwards you weren't even aware of doing it.

That was the day.
July 2nd 2010.
The day I realised you had become a gymnast.
And so the journey continues...