An Ancient Gymnast

When I was 10, I began taking gymnastics lessons. In gymnastics years, that meant I was "anciently old". But, even though I wasn't very flexible, I did have a knack for many aspects of gymnastics.

The major problem with my age was that I had the "fear factor" - that is that I knew I could get hurt if I messed up. This kept me from learning very difficult skills that younger gymnasts can perform with their eyes closed and one arm tied behind their backs. They can perform such skills because they aren't afraid - the coach tells them to do something and they don't hesitate - they just do it.

I was a valued team member on my Jr. High and High School Gymnastics teams. I even won the state title on balance beam at the end of my sophomore year. When I went off to college, I put away my bar grips and leotards for good. I still practiced handstands and back handsprings. I loved tumbling and walking on my hands. (Plus it impressed my boyfriend, too.)

In the early 1990's, I was working for a video production company. They were scheduled to shoot a commercial with Mary Lou Retton. She was my hero - big time! My bosses were very understanding and arranged for me to be on location for the shoot. As luck would have it, I was very close to Mary Lou's size and actually got to be her "stand-in" for the lighting and sound checks.

Mary Lou Retton was so nice to me that day. She posed for numerous pictures and answered all of my stupid questions. I was particularly in awe of how she handled the pressure of performing that final vault that earned her the gold medal. She described the entire sequence of events and her thoughts and feelings. It was pure magic to sit next to her as she described her gold medal winning vault. Since then, I have read her book and followed the growth of her family via news coverage. What a class act she is!

Even though I am just a few months shy of my 40^th birthday, I still find myself doing handstands and doing my old balance beam routines on lines. I can even do all of the dance moves from my floor routine. (not so much on the tumbling these days though, due to an arthritic knee) I'm definitely not the "anciently old" gymnast I used to be - I guess now I'm "anciently-anciently old".

My 6 year old daughter recently took a session of classes at a gymnastics gym. It was so hard to sit in a chair on the sidelines and watch gymnasts tumble and flip all over the place. I wanted to be out there SOOOOO BADLY!

I must admit that I am freaked out by the new vaulting "table". I never really liked vault much anyway - but that gigantic vaulting table scares me to death. I don't think I would ever be able to make myself perform a vault over it. I would crash into it every time - because I would hesitate - because I'm an anciently-anciently old gymnast.