I'll Tumble For You

I'll admit it.  When I Mrs. LIAYF first told me about the class she wanted Lukas to attend this weekend I was a bit skeptical. This particular activity wasn't something I pictured him participating in.
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"It's a Gymnastics class" she told me. 

"Yeah?"  I replied, giving the idea some time to soak in.  Then, when she added that it would just be a drop in to see how he liked it, and seeing how she wasn't really asking but letting me know he would be going, I followed with "Uh...okay I guess it wouldn't hurt."  But what I was actually thinking to myself was: Isn't gymnastics an activity for girls?

It seemed that most of the gymnastics I remembered watching growing up was of the girls variety.  Mary Lou Retton and Olga Korbut came to immediately to mind. Mrs LIAYF solidified this line of thought by letting me know that Lukas' friend Eleanor was signed up, as was Claire from his preschool. In fact, it was made up of mostly girls with maybe one boy.

I remained skeptical, but wasn't really against it. I guess I figured there was a chance we wouldn't end up going anyway with our recent track record on illnesses and diversions.
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Then Saturday came and although it was sunny outside, it came with a strong and bitterly cold wind.  Rather than venture out into it, the thought of sitting in a heated warehouse room with mats while Lukas ran off some steam, free of charge no less, didn't seem all that bad after all.  Even if he ended up being the only boy.

As it turned out Lukas loved the class.  Of the seven kids in the class, he was one of two boys.  He enthusiastically jumped in without hesitation, listened carefully to the coach's instructions, bounced about with loads of energy, and showed his natural athleticism in preforming the jumps, swings, tumbles, and rolls like he had been doing them for months.  He even evoked several comments about his abilities from other parents who, along with us, were watching from the obscurity of an overlooking balcony.

In fact, he enjoyed the class so much that we are considering enrolling him in the class for the next several week session.  It sure seems now like a great way to allow him to dispense of his built up energy in a positive manner, and seeing how much fun he had participating made it all worth while. My initial skepticism was certainly misguided.

Plus, I figure that maybe we're actually onto something here.  Looking back on my high school days now I'm thinking that rather than running around knocking heads with a bunch of other sweaty guys, getting knocked unconscious while playing, and having my knee blown out - it might have been, um, more pleasant to participate in a sport where I got to hang out and practice along side a bunch of mentally tough, flexible, and physically fit girls.

As parents we always hope our kids have it better than we did. We'll see how this one goes.