Little Bestfriends

Khloe is one lucky girl who is surrounded with awesome friends.
She is comfortable playing with the boys, and hanging out with girls. She is friends to almost everyone, and appreciates each of them as individual. She doesn't pick one, nor fight with another.
She treasures her friends, just as how much she treasures her family.

But being lucky does not mean she gets spared of the daily harshness of these little graders' world. Of course, there is that bullying issue, the "where-i-belong" drama, and the "i-don't-wanna-play-with-you!" moments. Khloe is just like the other kids, she went through some of those moments. Howerver, she does not go home from school thinking about it and feeling sorry for herself. Most of the time, she forgot to tell me. Just goes to show how little of an issue it is for her to deal with. This doesn't mean she thinks less of bullying. She is just one strong girl, and knows how to deal with it her herself.

Strength in mind and heart.
Khloe is raised to deal with issues in school, by herself first before excalating it to us, her parents. Despite her weak demeanor, we tried to raise her to never let anybody deprive her of her rights and her choices. She may be a cry baby, but she is one strong girl. Hence, as much as she treasures her friends very much, she can actually put them on their places if they push her to a corner.
She knows her rights and her wrongs, and will gladly let you know yours as well. Say that one time her friends made her choose between the new girl (who is getting bullied) and them (whose been her friends since) -- Khloe chose the new girl. Why? Because she grew knowing it is her Christian duty to protect the weak. And she's been doing this eversince. That is one thing that we are very proud of her.

Friends are forever no matter what.
The only thing that breaks Khloe's heart is when her friends separate from her. As Khloe choses to protect the weak, she befriends most of them and connects with them sincerely. However, these kids do not stay long in the area. They have to leave, much to Khloe's dismay. But that does not stop her from making beautiful memories with them. In their own little way, these girls collect moments, share ideas and spend as much time as they could have -- knowing fully well that they will separate soon.

Tears are proof that you loved!
Khloe will cry again and again everytime she misses these girls.
My heart breaks watching her go through this everytime. But I am proud of her. I am proud of the kind of girl that she becomes. She might be broken for a bit, but the memories with them makes her a better girl. A better friend. A stronger friend.

Friends until the end.
A bestfriend is what Khloe is to her bestfriends. They are the ones who are always there, even if Khloe is too busy with her activities. They are always there even if Khloe cannot spend as much time with them. They are always there to understand her, to protect her when she needs protecting, and play with her when their mood sets in. This is the friendship that Khloe is so proud to have, be that with the girls or the boys, around her. She loves her friends and she treasures them sincerely


Photo credit:
https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/480688960199202771/

An Athlete's Mom

I am writing this as a poignant reflection of the recent bus crash carrying  #HumboldtBroncos Jr. Hockey Team, taking away 10 athlete's lives, their coach and 4 others. Our family may not be a hockey family, but we are in deep mourning of this tragedy. We are, first and foremost, a Canadian Family in part, an Athlete's Family and a family who loves hockey. We are sending our sincere condolences to all the bereaved family and friends. As a mom, I am sending all my spiritual strength to all the bereaved moms who are going through this loss.

I can't imagine the pain, the deep sorrow, the anguish of these athletes' moms, or of all the moms who went through a loss like this. Or of ANY mom who went through a loss of a child.

As a mom of a competitive gymnast for more than a year now, I still have trepidation everytime Khloe goes to train for gymnastics, or competes on a bar or the beam events. Same trepidation I felt when I saw that victorious smile on her face when she tried an assisted cartwheel at 3y.o. on her first gymnastics class. And I think most, if not all, moms can attest to this, that there will always be THAT feeling, be the child an athlete or not. Maybe, just a different level of trepidation for an athlete's mom.

For those travelling athletes,  whose parents cannot come with them all the time, that waiting-period of parents for their athletes to be home is always heart-pounding. A game's WIN is nothing compared to that heart-warming embrace a child can give to their parents. Knowing that they are home, in your arms, is the GOLD or the WINNING TROPHY  any athlete can give to their parents. And for those parents who are with their athletes during training or competition: the simple fact of bringing their athletes home, all in piece -- with no broken bones, is way, way more important than winning medals or trophies. As parents and as moms, this is our ultimate wish.

Personally, my bitter-sweet surrender for Khloe to go competitive is a journey by itself. As a mom, I was so torn on whether or not to sign her. The invitation for her to join the ODP program was so fast, leaving us a whirlwind of chaotic adjustments on our schedules and individual lives. All my trepidation was set aside, to let me focus on how to organized our crazy-enough scheduled lives. UNTIL competition hit. Until I saw her swinging on the bars. Up on the beam. That rotten feeling came back again. Got worst when after a year, she levelled up to Women's Artistic Gymnastic proper. When the swinging on the bar gets harder. When the choreography on the beam gets tougher. When the scoring is not about how pretty they are doing the skills, but by how many errors and deduction they would do instead. As Khloe's mom, I hold my breath everytime she is up on the bar, or on the beam. I might be holding my camera, but my heart is pounding and hoping that she won't fall and hurt herself. I am first and foremost her mom. And I will feel this way forever.

Hence, I have very HIGH respect for those moms of every athletes who do sports that have more physical contact with others, or more dangerous than Khloe's gymnastics. I always believe that what we all feel is the same. Our fears are the same. Our hopes and wishes are the same.

We just want our child to be safe, be that on triumphs and or losses!
We will forever support what they love!
We will forever pray for their safety!
We are a parent!
We are a mom!

Every Princess Deserves A Bloom Or Two

As a supportive parent who wanna treasure every milestone our daughter passes through, I am that borderline-stagemom-wannabee, who strictly adheres to this specific recital/competition etiquette -- flowers/bouquet for my princess.

I always tell my husband, it is customary, it is important, it is a must! This is after going through series of competitions, with recital mixed into it, my better-half can't help himself but complain. Then I remind him again that it's our own little way of showing her how much we support her, that, we appreciate her efforts and her desire to do her best.

At one point I asked myself, "can we actually get away without one?" ( for her last competition, especially given the fact that we just gave her a bouquet for her recital the day before). Nope. I felt so guilty before the awarding, that I ended up buying a single rose.

What I learned though is that, although it may be okay to get away with it, but there are different ways where we can save a bit. Flowers are not cheap, but we can surely shop around or spin a DIY for a personal touch.

I am used to buying a bouquet for Khloe's every recital. This ranges from regular-dozen roses to a dozen of long-stemmed roses. I avoid the preppy-expensive flower shoppe. Like seriously, my little ballerina wouldn't know the difference. I would pre-order it at either Zehrs or Sobey's. Just let them know it's for a recital and they'll have it ready with that pink little bow and wrappings. With Sobey's, you can actually pick a bouquet of your choice and they'll arrange it for you. You can walk away with a beautiful bunch for less than $20.

On her first gymnastics competition, I decided to spin it into something smaller. I am not sure what's the general consensus, but I thought of getting a cute, smaller bouquet. Then Sobey's made me this:

Sans the balloon, it was less than $15. Khloe loves it... as it was just of right size. Her next competition 2 months after was out-of-town. We ran out of time evening prior, so we pulled over to the next personalized-cookie store. And this is what we came up with:

As it's a last minute thing, this cookie/gummybear bouquet is twice the amount of the one above. And nope, I am not gonna do that pulling-over splurging ever again.

For her first competition this year, I decided to put my personal touch on it. As this meet is one that we are hosting at our home-gym, cramming is out of the question. So I picked a bouquet of small roses and came up with this:

I threw in a cutie bear that says "I love you", and for the roses, I paid $9 for a bunch. The rest of the craft supplies came from my craft box.

I guess, what I am trying to share is that... making our little ones feeling loved and supported doesn't require lotssa $$$ from our card or wallet. These kids don't expect fancy flowers. All they wanna see is that proud look on our face, and that little reassurance that we are always there for them.

It's all in that little thought. Sometimes, even fake flowers can do the trick.

Gymnastics Competition: Getting Ready

Khloe's first gymnastics competition for this year is coming up. She moved up to Compulsory A/Women's Artistic Gymnastics Level 2 (Born 2009). Our experience from last years ODP (Ontario Development Program) armed us with enough ideas on how to prepare for this year's competition with less stress.

Having said that, here's a mom's point of thoughts on how parents/guardians of a newbie gymnast should take into consideration:

• Competition is 4-5 hours long. This is from registration, march-in, warm-up, competition proper, to awarding. Be prepared for those long hours (as spectator/supporter/no. 1 fan). Concessions are usually available, but you are welcome to bring your own food/drinks if you have enough time to prepare. 
• Be on the venue early. This would ensure a perfect spot for you to watch, and to prepare your gymnast and lessen their stress. As much as they look tough and ready, they still do have butterflies in their stomachs. (Some venues don't have enough room for spectators). It's a first come, first spot basis.
• Bring your bouquet or flower or stuff toys. There's always someone who sells at the sideline where the awarding will be held, in case you forgot. Your gymnast will appreciate it surely. 
• Make sure you packed their gym bag before leaving the house. Competition suit, scrunchie, training suit, socks, hockey tape, hair ties, hair spray, comb, snacks and water. Keep their hair as intact/tight as it could get. Between warm-ups and events, their hair could easily loosen up. Hair spray/gel/mousse is your bestfriend at this point. This needs to be all done before march-in. They have no time to fix it in between. I use this most of the time for Khloe's hair. It's a snap on bun.
  
• Bring cash to pay to watch. They usually have a family-of-4 rate. 
• Bring camera. They have official photographers (usually pre-arranged before comp proper). Still.. you are welcome to snap your own. 
• Cheer, support, enjoy and have fun! It's your gymnast's time to shine. They worked hard for this moment.