Doing It All

So, today was an exciting day for me! Charley started gymnastics. She went into the gym, all ready to go and couldn't wait for class to start. She immediately befriended a little girl named Aurora, and those two had a blast throughout the class. Charley really did well. I wasn't sure what to expect, because she's never been in a structured class before. I was teaching another class in the big gym, while Charley was in the preschool gym and I could hear her squeals of joy loud and clear. When she came out into the big gym and saw me, she definitely got off task. She looked so surprised to see me, and yelled, "Mommy! Hi!" at the top of her lungs. I was all the way across the gym, working on beam with a couple of girls, and tried to ignore her, but it was impossible. She kept waiting until the coaches were working with other kids, and trying to sneak away. They finally took her back into the preschool gym, and she was fine, until my dad picked her up, and she realized I wasn't going home with them. He told me later that she recovered quickly. Not a surprise. Anyway, she did MUCH better than I expected for her first class, and I'm excited to see if she actually takes to it.

I mentioned before that I love teaching, right? Today was a great teaching day for me. I had a private lesson with an adorable little 7 year old dancer. Her mom is a dance mom, through and through. A very nice woman. But a dance mom. I don't think I've ever seen her so happy as I saw her today, though. The little girl, who I'll call Sara, had two skills she was trying SO hard to master, and she just couldn't get them at dance. So, we worked on the skills (a backbend, and a kick over) and after about 20 minutes, she had mastered both skills. Sara's face was glowing. She was so proud of herself, and it made me feel great.

Tonight I'm sitting at home watching a movie and doing a little cleaning. I was hoping to go out with my girlfriends, but couldn't track down a sitter. I'm actually really bummed about it, because I haven't had a girls' night in awhile, and I could really use a night out with some of my favorite people. Now I said I don't need to bash my ex, and I don't intend to. But this is one thing that really frustrates me. He never has to worry about finding a sitter. He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. I, on the other hand, spend 95% of my time with Charley. The way I see it, I'm the lucky one, but it would be nice to be able to get out every once in awhile, and not have to worry about finding a sitter.

So, I was talking to one of my guy friends earlier in the evening, and just kind of discussing the differences between men and women. In his eyes, women constantly try to figure out men, and we'll just never be able to do it. He thinks I'm an idiot for "playing the game." He says that guys just want a direct question, and a direct answer. They don't want any beating around the bush, and they won't invest the time to figure a woman out if they can't get a quick read on her. I have a hard time being direct with men, though, and I think a lot of women could relate to that. Even the guys I'm not interested in. I have a hard time saying, "You're a great guy, but I'm not attracted to you." My friend, on the other hand, has said that to dozens of women. I can't imagine a guy just coming out and saying that, but maybe he's onto something. I prefer when people are direct with me, and I can be very direct in most situations. But I have a hard time being direct when it comes to dating, at least in the early stages. I think that's because I'm trying to feel people out, as much as they are trying to feel me out. I'm a very open, outgoing person and I will give everybody a fair shot...but I can be skeptical at times, and need to make sure I know a man's intentions. I guess I'll play it this way: if a man is direct with me, I will be direct with him. If not, I might feel out the situation a little bit. That doesn't mean I'm not interested, it just means I'm trying to get a read on the situation. Seems fair enough, right?

Alright, time for a teacher story. When I was in Las Vegas, my fifth graders got to go on a field trip every year. While I was working with the 5th grade, I set it up for all of the students to go to the gym I worked at, for their field trip. I coached in an incredibly low-income neighborhood, so none of my students had ever experienced anything like it. They were SO well-behaved, and had the greatest time learning basic gymnastics and dance. It was truly the highlight of the school year for them, and they talked about it from the time of the field trip, until school was let out. Well, I had one student, who I will call Brian, who had a particularly good time. Brian was a great kid, but a little rough around the edges. He was one of those kids who got blamed for a lot of things, but he generally wasn't the whole problem. Brian and I got along great, because I could see the sweet soul beneath the rough exterior. He could be a handful, but I liked him. He was dying to go back to the gym. One night, I showed up at the gym, and my boss played a voice message for me. Brian had called to ask if he could come back to the gym. "Ummm, hi, this is Brian from Mrs. Pierron's class. I am wondering if I can come back to the gym sometime. I'll be really, really good, I promise. I won't be loud or rude, and I'll pay attention! Please, please, please let me come back to gymnastics. Bye!" I loved it. I thought it was the sweetest thing. I hope Brian will get a chance to go back to a gym someday!