lxforever

“And where does this love go? … This love must still exist somewhere, transmuting into more love and better love and love for people who haven’t yet felt it. It must be there, because you still remember it.”

—Chelsea Fagan, from earlier

OMGGGGGGG so I tested out the whole live-streaming thing on computer/iPad today via NBCOlympics and OMFG this shall be the BEST OLYMPICS EVERRRRRR…!!! Cannot! believe! how amazing technology is. I guess when it only happens once every four years (because let’s face it, the Winter Olys just aren’t the same to me, sorry), technology goes through a lot of changes. Twitter/Facebook photos/LIVE updates from coaches and athletes and media, CONSTANTLY! And now…LIVE STREAMING from London. LIVE! Sunday/Tuesday morning…we shall be FRIENDS indeed. Get at me.

Another note: for some reason being a gymnastics fan when you are 26 (2008), or 22 (2004), or 18 (duh), seems a whole lot more OK than being one at…30. Esp. when the team is the Youngest Ever (I mean, it seems so, anyway). When I was 18/22, I was their peer, sort of. When I was 26, still close enough. Now…geez. They seem so young, so much younger (well, b/c they are, but still. Duh. Whatever.). Yet I cannot help my fandom…yes!!!

Anyway. I have not been sleeping well. Stuff is going on. Things happen. It can suck. But that’s life. As we all know by now. Also Madeleine is leaving my parks class to move on to bigger/better things—which I’ve been waiting/hoping for, I want to see her continue and be an amazing little gymnast somewhere ‘real’—but it makes me a little sad, too. My first favorite at that park. All grown up. Awwwww.

For some reason what has come to mind a lot this week is my first pre-level-9 summer (1998…yes I know, sorry). It was exciting but stressful. I didn’t realize what I was in for. (I’m pretty sure this is also when we took ballet as a team…ha. Anyway.) Not nearly as rough as summer ’96, first pre-Optional summer, but still. Lots to learn as always.

One of the Big Things we needed to get was a C skill on bars. This was a horrible proposition. Nothing seemed doable. I could probably have pulled out a blind, but to what? Plus I don’t think Tom trusted me to keep that skill (I don’t blame him), ha ha ha. Anyway. Somehow we settled on me trying to get this WEIRD random release skill that we called a ‘rear vault’ (such a beautiful name, no? heh).

NOTE: I HAVE NEVER seen anyone do this skill I don’t think. I still have NO IDEA why we did this. I think it’s because I had really good uprises and a strong pull (but was stymied about uprise handstand…hmmmm). Whatever. Anyway basically you do a regular uprise, but on the way up, twist your body so as you get to the top of the bar, you’re in a pike, legs parallel to the bar. At the very top, you LET GO of the bar (AGAIN…WHY were we doing this with ME I will never know. But I trusted Tom, hahaha), propelling your piked body OVER THE TOP of the bar (AGAIN…??!), turning around, and regrasping the bar in a hang on the other side.

So OK. If I could actually have DONE this, this would have been an EXTREMELY COOL trick, and it would have worked into my routine effortlessly. Instead…of course I could not do this. And yet tried, day after day, week after week, allllllll summer long. Somehow, we thought if we hit on the exact right method, we would make it work. Tom had faith (why I do not know, bless his heart) and I thought it was cool that he thought I could do that (LOL). Somehow, even though evidence was quickly mounting to the contrary, we felt this was possible, if only we could find the right balance. I tried it in the belt, launched over with ropes, but never caught it; I tried drills with a trampoline over the low bar, jumping over the BEAM even, etc. All sorts of ways to Make This Work.

Finally, one day, as summer wore on, Tom was like, listen, you need to actually CATCH one (still in the belt BTW) if this is going to happen. And so. With my giant uprise swing, I went for it. Flying over the bar, caught up in ropes, trying to ACTUALLY CATCH THE BAR. And it was a total TOTAL fail, LOL. Tom COULD NOT STOP laughing at me (note: we did a lot of laughing AT people in that gym, hahahaha…which was part of the fun). It was disastrous (but safely, I was in the pit, so…).

After trying all these different approaches, seeking a way to make this work for me, putting in an effort that shouldn’t probably have gone on so long…we finally realized it was fruitless. What fun we had trying, but this wasn’t the right choice. You can only do the same thing with the same not-great results for so long before realizing that you’re not actually capable of it, and choosing to move on.

The next day we pulled out the COP and I pored over all the bar Cs, finally settling on my COP-out C, that silly overunder from handstand (whatever, it got me .6), and got right to it. It was time to admit that the rear vault just wasn’t going to happen, at least not then, and go on to something that would work for the near future. Maybe we’d get back to those rear vaults (note: we never did, but Stephanie B did a similar skill the next year, which was badass), but for now we’d exhausted the possibilities, and at least had a few laughs.

Man, I loved all of that stuff. It was fun.

SO. Happy OLYMPICS all, and happy belated birthday to my Grandma, with whom I got to speak yesterday, and happy bday today to DOPS and Cathy G.