Leaving the Cult

It's official. Emily is retiring from gymnastics. After six years of hard work, and probably 10lbs of medals, she has decided it is time to hang up her grips and find something else to do with the 18-20 hours a week she spent training.

While both Mark and I are having very mixed feelings about the change, Emily seems to have no regrets. We attended the team year-end banquet on Saturday where Emily got tearful good-byes from friends and very kind words from her coaches, but when we asked her if all the attention made her want to change her mind, she responded with a flat-out "nope". Whether her attitude changes this summer when she starts getting bored of being at home is yet to be seen.

So what does she want to do now? She signed-up for some dance classes over the summer which, if she enjoys, she will continue to do in the fall. She wants to try ballet, jazz, and hip-hop, and maybe try-out for the middle school dance team next year. Mark really wants her to try some other sports, but right now she is refusing anything that involves running, which really narrows the field. She is also dead set against my recommendations of diving ("too scary") and cheerleading ("too dumb"). But whatever she chooses to do, we know she will continue to be our superstar.