We’re off to see our Joley, the wonderful Joley we love.
Joley is our granddaughter, and we were off to see her compete in the North Dakota State Gymnastics meet.
A bit of history is in order. Joley’s mom, our daughter, started Joley in gymnastics because she needed an outlet for her energy—at the ripe, old age of three. Talk about cute—a group of little boys and girls running and jumping into pits filled with foam, learning to do summersaults and cartwheels.
She loved it and grew into the sport. Then watching her became torture. There’s nothing quite like watching someone on the balance beam—doing the splits while jumping and then landing again on the beam, or pirouetting, or performing those awful backward flips. Of course they fall at times. Ken would comfort me with One thing to remember when they fall is that they’ve fallen before. They know how to fall.
And, although Joley did well in all four events, the balance beam became her specialty. As a Sophomore she won first in the state meet.
Last year she took first in the region but fell when competing at state. Not an unusual occurrence. This year, a week ago at regions, we saw her give the performance of her life on the beam. She didn’t wobble once and the score was the highest I’ve seen for the event in our state.
But every meet begins with a clear slate. None of the above matters.
This year the state meet was four and a half hours away—but we wanted to support her. And there was another factor. She decided some time ago that this was the end of her gymnastics career. This was her last gymnastics event ever.
State meets are grueling with team competition Friday night followed by individual competition Saturday afternoon. I can’t provide a blow-by-blow, but as a group they did incredibly well on the uneven bars and vault, were way ahead of their nearest competition. Then the beam, and Joley fell. So disheartening. And she wasn’t the only gal on the team who did, she wasn’t even the first to fall. Their margin for victory at that point was so slim, too slim to maintain, really.
The schedule placed the other team just before Joley’s team for the floor exercises, the other team's strongest event. I so wanted our kids to win—even though I only knew most of them from a distance. I had to fight the desire to see the opposing team do poorly, remember they were also good kids who deserved recognition for their achievements.
Wouldn’t you know the other team was performing beautifully. I didn’t see how our gals could top them. I had a discomfiting thought. These girls were cut from a cloth similar to Joley’s team—good kids with deeply ingrained work ethics. They needed good performances just as our kids needed good performances. I began to pray for them. I asked God to bless them, one by one.
When our girls were ready, the Minot fans stood and cheered. I want to think this encouraged the girls. They knew there were people behind them no matter how they did. I’m not sure they even expected to win at that point, because at least four would have to provide nearly-flawless performances.
Of course, you know what happened. We’ve missed more meets than we’ve been able to attend, but we’ve seen enough over the years to recognize the unexpected. And when it was over, we won.
And our Joley? Well, let Grandma brag. I’ve always loved watching her on the floor, her second-best event. She not only provides the necessary gymnastic moves—and they’re spectacular—but she holds the positions, maintains the extensions, and she moves with the music. Her facial expressions change to reflect the changing mood of the music. Her scores for this event reflect her art.
Joley has competed on the high school team since seventh grade. During those years, her team has won several second places, but this was her only experience on a first place team. She was captain. Here they are. Joley is holding the award.
But we were only halfway through. On Saturday afternoon, one more grueling meet.
Again, they did well, but not as well as the night before. I won’t go into the details because they aren’t as spectacular. There were high moments and low moments. Until the end.
After going through all the awards—and our girls including Joley received some—an Outstanding Senior award is given. This includes both athletic ability and leadership. Well, you guessed it. Joley received the award.
Even writing about it today brings tears. Her other grandma cried, too. Even Mom had tears in her eyes. At the same time, I felt for one of the other girls who must have been a strong contender.
Now that it’s over, we have to give everything to God. For Joley, apart from all the ribbons and awards she’s won over the years, it’s been good. She’s learned to win and she’s learned to lose. Both prepare a person for life.
Although gymnastics is an individual sport because they compete as individuals, the encouragement the girls give each other is palpable at times, even when they’re overcoming their own disappointments. In real life we need to work with others, not compete against them. I think she’s learned the lesson, in a big way. As I’ve said before, God is good. Very, very good.
No comments:
Post a Comment