Boys in Action

When I was little, there was a period where I wanted to be a gymnast. My mom took us to a gymnastics class they offered at the high school and we learned to do somersaults, walk on the balance beam, go across the monkey bars, and for those of us that were brave enough, try to do a cartwheel. I loved it. And hey, we even got to wear a cute leotard! What more could a girl ask for?

The most advanced I ever got was doing a one-handed cartwheel. I was waaaay too cautious to dry an aerial, flips or even a split. I know, I would have made a horrible gymnast. But I could do a pretty mean headstand! Thankfully, reasoning won before it came time to decide on a career.

When I was about nine years old, I remember my parents taking us to the playground at our elementary school during the summer. There were two bars about six feet high that we liked hanging from and pretending we were stronger than we actually were. I had been playing on these bars and called my mom over to watch me do a trick.

I had never actually done this trick before. But I saw a girl at school do it a few weeks ago! Sure, she was known for her amazing baton-twirling skills and was obviously a skilled athlete. But I had somehow convinced myself that I could do this.

I stradled the bars with my legs and had my arms straight and at my sides, holding on. My mom had no idea what was coming, but knowing how cautious I was, I'm sure she had absolutely no idea what I had been planning on doing. The goal was to lean forward and make a complete circle, coming back into the same position after only 1.6 seconds. I don't remember a great deal, other than the fact that I only made it halfway through my circle before crashing on the ground.

Thankfully, I only brushed my shoulder and was otherwise unhurt.

What made me want to do that? I've never had a strong spirit of adventure. As I said, I've always been pretty cautious and understood how painful consequences could be. Perhaps it was an inflated view of myself. My skills. And what I was capable of. Maybe I wanted to show off just how talented I really was (or in this case, how talented I was not!)

Fast-forward twenty years. I am now the mother of two beautiful little boys, with more energy than I could have ever imagined. And they are definitely boys. Adventurous. Confident. Determined. Lovable, for sure, but only when they're out of energy.

So, what was it exactly that made them do this this morning?

Could it be that they're following in my footsteps? Do they have (subconscious) aspirations to be a gymnast someday? Or perhaps as professional rockclimbers?

I think not. In actuality, they're just boys. Plain and simple.

But you better believe I'll be there with a safety net when we're at the playground and they say, "Hey mom, watch this trick!" In the meantime, I've really got my work cut out for me!