Regionals

I sure do love this young man of mine.This was his last meet of the season, and our last weekend of travel, hallelujah! To be honest, this was not Calin's best season. He injured his back and his elbow has been bothering him and he just hasn't been able to nail his routines during the competitions. But despite that, he still did wonderfully. He scored 14th over all at the Regionals meet in Bozeman, Montana, he scored a 54.05, I think that was his lowest score all season. But still, 14th place in his age division out of the 5 states in the region is still pretty dang good (Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska)! We are so proud of him!
Calin is a funny kid. He doesn't show much emotion, especially when it comes to gym. I had a gym aunt ask me at this meet if he was always so serious. All I could answer was yes. But it's not exactly that he's serious, he just doesn't show his feelings very much. He shows the same stoic emotion when he nails a routine as when we falls on his face. He smiles if you say the right thing, but he keeps a straight face much of the time. I've taken to acting completely ridiculous just to get him to crack a smile, and when he finally does it's usually accompanied by a my-mom-is-so-crazy shaking of his head. But yeah, I love this this kid of mine.
I have to put in a few words for the awesomeness that is Madison Gymnastics. Our boys did awesome at Regionals. We had three boys who placed 1st in their age divisions, a level 6, level 8, and level 10. Our two level 10 boys will be going to nationals, and the level 10 boy who placed 1st has already competed on a regional team at a meet in New Jersey last month. The fact is simply that we have phenomenal coaching. Rexburg is just a little town in southeast Idaho, but we are so fortunate to have the knowledge and expertise of coach Justin Packard. He coaches our boys to the best of their abilities, and despite the torture it looks like to us parents, the boys love going to gym. They love Justin and he doubles as a great role model. During the school year Calin spends more time at the gym than he does at home so it's important that he is spending his time with an adult who can help shape him into the kind of man I hope for him to become. He also has great teammates who come from nice families.
There's a special kind of camaraderie that exists among gym parents. Outsiders just can't understand, they question why we would be willing to sacrifice so much time and money for our gymnasts. But it's not something we can explain. That's why I love sitting in the waiting room at the gym, or sitting with other spectators at a meet, no one questions why you do what you do for your child, because they are doing the same for theirs. We all know how much time and effort our boys have put in to practicing their skills and we hope for them to compete at their very best. We cheer on our sons, and their teammates, and even those who may be their competition. If an athlete takes a fall, we feel their disappointment. When they rock a perfect routine, we feel their joy. We are just so dang proud of those kids. All of them. Because they train hard 5-6 days a week, all year long. They are dedicated, and no matter how they place at a competition, they should be proud of their accomplishments.

Saw this guy on our drive up to Bozeman.

With coach Justin and teammate Logan.

We're so proud of him!