Tuesday really wasn't a bad day, it was just busy. Prior to finding a place to park the bus, it had been in front of my house, and with that, I found myself trying to set things up in there quite a bit. I'm a busy-body, what can I say? Wednesday wasn't a terrible day, either, but it was one of those days where nothing really fell into place. I found myself scrambling for a sitter, trying to find someone to drive with me to park the bus... It was a bit of a mess. Thank goodness one of my girlfriends came through, and I got it all taken care of. But I don't like to do things last minute, so I was a little bit annoyed with myself for putting someone out! Wednesday at gymnastics was great. The girls I'm training for an in-house competition worked really hard, and had a good workout. The other group I coached had a good practice, too. I was really pleased with how the workout was going, until the last 5 minutes, when I was spotting a girl on bars, and got kicked in the face. It wasn't one of those, "foot slipped off the bar, and barely hurt," kind of kicks. The girl intentionally kicked her feet off the bar, but did it while I was explaining the skill to the rest of the group, so I was totally blind sided. Ouch! That pretty much summed up my Wednesday.
Thursday was actually a really good day. Charley and I spent the day over at my dad's house, and I got a lot of paperwork done. I really felt productive! Charley and I went with my boss, Brian, over to Wolfe Park, to check out the location for National Gymnastics Day. The space is great. I'm hoping we have a great turnout, because the location is amazing, and the activities are going to be a lot of fun. I taught a private lesson, too, and then went over to a friend's house with Charley. Charley got to play with her little girlfriend, and I got to have some girl talk, myself. That was really relaxing, and I haven't had a chance to relax much in recent weeks.
Then came Friday. Friday the 13th. Fitting, isn't it? I knew it was going to be kind of a packed day, because Blair and I were planning to install the wall padding on the bus, once and for all. Then, I knew I had to go into work at the gym for a few hours. I was supposed to work with the girls' team tonight, which I was really looking forward to, even though it meant I would be working until 8. I was looking forward to it, though! Well, anyway, the day started off on a bit of a bad foot. Charley screamed and threw a complete tantrum, because she wanted to wear her One Direction pajama pants all day. After a long, drawn out battle, I decided it wasn't worth the fight. So, she wore the pants with a mismatched flower shirt. Lovely. Then, Charley went to play with a friend, whose family I adore. Charley jumps in with those kids, like she's part of the family, and I feel so lucky that we both have friends like that. Anyway, I'd been gone for about an hour and a half, when I got a phone call. My friend said Charley had fallen, and hadn't bounced back the way she normally would. Apparently, she tripped, and when she stood up she was limping. She cried, and cuddled with my friend for awhile, but then appeared to be fine, other than the fact that she wouldn't put weight on one of her legs. I was concerned, because a couple of weeks ago, Charley had been complaining that her leg hurt, and SLIGHTLY limping, but it had gone away. I wondered if there was more to it. So, I headed home to check it out. I was surprised to find that the leg that appeared to be injured was NOT the same leg Charley had been limping on last week. And watching her try to put weight on it, then cringe, told me there was something wrong.
So, I put Charley in the car, and headed to Urgent Care. After filling out the paperwork, and sitting for a few minutes, Charley was called back into the exam room. A physician's assistant came into the room, and asked what had happened. She looked like she couldn't have been any older than 25, but she was great with Charley. After listening to her symptoms, she decided we should get an X-ray of Charley's full leg and ankle. Sure enough, a quick glance at the X-ray showed a hairline fracture on her tibia. Poor kid! No wonder she kept saying, "Ow! Ouch!" Splinting the injury definitely was not an enjoyable experience for anyone. Charley was very still while the splint was being applied, but she was sobbing, saying, "Mommy, I want to play with you. " When everything was finished, Charley calmed down, and only cried because she couldn't wear her 'sparkle shoes.' From there, we went and picked up one of my friends, and got dinner. It struck me around 5:00, that I hadn't eaten since breakfast, and that fact probably hadn't helped my rocky emotional state. Then we went and got Charley a wagon, which she is incredibly excited about being pulled around in. This kid's easy to please, sometimes! Ha! After picking up the wagon, we went for ice cream, and then returned home. Now, Charley is sleeping peacefully, and I'm finally sitting down, for the first time since I woke up
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Throughout this afternoon and evening, I was really touched at the support everybody offered. I called my boss around 2pm, and told him I wouldn't be able to make it to work at 4:30, because I had to take Charley for X-rays. He assured me he'd have it covered, but also told me to alert one of the other directors. So, I let her know and she took care of it. Within an hour of letting my boss know, I'd received several texts from co-workers, asking how Charley was feeling and wishing her well. I was really impressed, and it reminded me why I love my job, and love the sport of gymnastics. As a gymnast and as a coach, I've always felt a sense of family in the gym. Ask any gymnast, and they'll tell you their gymnastics friends were more like sisters than friends. It's just how we are. We spend a lot of time together, and become very close. The same rule applies to coaches, in most of the gyms I've worked in. I've never felt like just an employee. I've always been an extension of a family, and that's a really special thing that I think is unique to specific sports, and gyms, and I'm lucky to be part of the Kenwood family. I was very impressed, and incredibly grateful to my co-workers today. My friends were very supportive as well, offering assistance, and trying to help. I'm truly surrounded by amazing people, and I think that's easy to take for granted sometimes. But I certainly didn't take it for granted today. I appreciate everyone who reached out via text or phone call, or even on FB, checking on Charley. She'll be fine. Kids get hurt! That was always my parents' approach, and it's one thing that I feel very strongly about. Things happen. Kids trip, kids fall, they even break bones once in awhile. But I'd rather let Charley live an active life, run like a 2 year old, and experience the occasional injury, than keep her in a bubble because there's a risk of getting hurt! She's a toddler, and she got her first big boo-boo doing what toddlers do...Running! And I secretly blame her One Direction pants that she fought so hard to wear today. They're a little long, and I wouldn't be surprised if she tripped on them! Anyway, she's fine. She's sleeping soundly, and I'm hoping it lasts all night. Fingers crossed!
On that note, I'm ready for this Friday the 13th to be over, and the weekend to begin! Here's to a better next week.
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