Gymnastics: Not just for girls

I am so stoked about this Thursday. This Thursday, the Gavinator will begin gymanastics lessons at our local gym. He has a ton of energy to burn, crazy strength, and natural talent so I think gymnastics will be a great fit for the boy.

That said, I have run across a few people who are shocked that I enrolling my BOY in gymnastics. Maybe it is because I grew up in the 80's, during Mitch Gaylord's hayday (come one, admit it. You loved American Anthem, too) and I view gymnastics as being very much a manly sport but other people? Notsomuch. Perhaps it is just a South Carolina thing. Boys should be running around bases or catching footballs; not spending time in a gym learning the fundamentals of gymnastics. Never mind the fact that those fundamentals- strength, flexibility, and coordination- are integral to every aspect of athetics.

I called the gymanstics studio to enroll Gavin and they were all "what's HER name?" and I was all "HIS name is Gavin". Then I told some of my coworkers and other people I know that Gavin starts gymnastics this Thursday and they were all "how sweet that GRACE is starting gymnastics" and I was all "not Grace, GAVIN. GAVIN starts gymnastics" and they were all "What? Is the local karate studio full?" and "Wouldn't he prefer soccer?".

Gavin has already shown signs of mad gymnastics talent. He is super strong. His therapists attributed his freakish strength to his sensory issues- tensing up when we try to lie him on his back, for example- and he never gets dizzy. The kid can spin and spin and spin and never waver (again, a result of all his sensory stuff). Plus, in my opinion (and I am from Mary Lou Retton's home state so this carries a lot of weight), he shows innate talent. He can stand on his head, flip around a bar at the playground, hang forever and a day while swinging from a bar, do a somersault, and do splits. When we went to visit my nieces, they were performing all their gymnastics moves and the boy could totally do or at least try to do everything that they did and they have already had years of lessons. Plus, he wanted to do what they did.

Last night, NBC aired women's nationals gymnastics competition. Gavin was enthralled. He was all "WOW" and "WOAH" and "AWESOME" while watching the girls flip through the air. He was glued to the TV and during comercial breaks he would run across the house like he was doing the floor routine, stop, do a front somersault, and then stand up with his arms in the air. Grace caught onto the gymnastics fever and seconded her brother's yells of "WOW" and "WOAH". It was so cute.

When the husband came home from a long day of work, the gymnastics competition was still on and he got to see all of the boy's fervor for the sport. The husband also brought home a stack of magazines (side note: if you're a flyer and you think you are doing a favor by leaving your magazines on the airplane for the next flyer: don't bother. The magazines aren't left on the plane. They just wind up at my house where I get to catch up on all the celebrity gossip and fashinon trends FOR FREE.) Gavin immediately went crazy for one of the magazines. The pink one. An Oxygen Magazine. He was all "Pink one! Pink one!".

So we gave him the magazine and he took it into the living room where he sat with his legs crossed at the knees, thumbing through the pages of Oxygen, and watching women's gymnastics.

"See." This husband said. "This is what happens when you let the boy wear your bra.