Jireh Said She Doesn’t Want to Do Gymnastics Anymore

So, this week, the day I dreaded arrived: Jireh decided she doesn’t want to do gymnastics anymore!

It’s not the fact that she wants to give up that bothers me.  It’s the reason why.

Everybody who knows Jireh knows how much she LOVES gymnastics. She began classes as soon as she was old enough (2), and Jireh has ALWAYS wanted to go to class.  It’s the highlight of her week!

But once she started taking 2-hour classes twice a week, she still enjoyed it; but it became challenging, which it hadn’t been before.  The next day, she’d complain of still being sore from the previous day’s class.  She just turned 7 earlier this month and has never participated in any other sport.  So, her feelings are still soft.  The easiest way to make her cry is to let her know you’re disappointed in her. Therefore, if her coach seems to “come down” on her, she takes it personally.  At this point, it’s no longer fun to her.

Though I’m not in any way trying to live vicariously through her, I also don’t want to see her give up on something she so loves and is naturally talented at doing.  So, we’ve had a few discussions over the past few days; and she was adamant about not going back.  However, I told her that she could take a break from it and that we’d look into doing private lessons.

Here’s the deal:  While I don’t want her to be unhappy and feel like she’s forced to take part in a sport, I also don’t want her to give up on a goal she set because she has momentary difficulty.  I felt like it was necessary for me to show her that I support her both emotionally and in deciding what’s best for her.

Jireh has a gymnastics bar, beam, and trampoline at home.  Until she shows no interest in these, I won’t let her give up.  But I know what it’s like to need a break. So, I’m going to let her take a break from gymnastics and save that money the next few months. When I told her so, she said that she planned to save her money for when she goes to college.

A 7-year-old who thinks like that?  Yeah, she’s definitely thought this through. So, a break it is!

Her last recital for a while: