My talented young gymnast (7yr old level 5) just competed at the Flipfest invitational in Knoxville TN. We had our sights set on a great weekend. Not only were we taking the whole family to watch our little kiki compete, we were also going to make a family vacation out of this! After all, Pigeon Forge and the great Smokey Mountains are just minutes from Knoxville. How bad could 9 hours in the car with a potty training 2 year old be?? Um...dumb question, but bad turned into REALLY bad when he started vomiting half way there. And his vomiting soon turned into both my sons vomiting and then daddy joined in and by Saturday night, just hours before the meet, the gymnast herself was ralphing too! She was able to keep it all in her during her meet, but the poor kid was so week she had her lowest scores ever. She later told me "daddy I was so nervous. I couldnt stop shaking" Nerves? Hardly! Try dehydration. During the awards Flipfest founder and former olympian John McCready spoke to the kids. He asked "Who here had the worst meet of their life" a few girls raised there hands. "Good" he said. "The bad meets are the ones we learn from. They will always be the most important meets. Not the most fun, but the most important" Truer words have never been spoken! I'm so proud of my kiki for getting out there when she could've given up!
