It was an early Saturday morning in July. I had signed Emily up for gymnastics class a few weeks before. This was her second class.
Emily's first class had been the previous week. I was a bit nervous. She had never been in a gym before, except at a few birthday parties. I was worried that Emily wouldn't listen or behave. My worries were not misplaced.
The moment Emily walked into the brightly lit gym and gazed upon the trampolines and tumbling mats, I knew we were in trouble. Instead of listening when the teacher spoke, Emily wandered off to explore a stack of tumbling mats. When the other kids were tottering on the balance beam, Emily was trying to peek under the uneven bars. While her classmates stood quietly on the side to wait their turn, Emily giggled and spun in circles.
It's her first day, I told myself. Be patient. She'll do better next time. Wishful thinking.
Week two wasn't any better. Emily was running her teacher ragged with her random wandering, climbing and spinning. The last straw was when she carelessly draped herself across a balance beam in use by another classmate. This was getting out of control, I thought, and dangerous.
I stomped onto the exercise floor. "Send her out, Katelyn." I called to her coach.
Emily walked slowly towards me. She could see I wasn't happy.
"We are going home." I said.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Emily threw herself to the floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I'll be good." She said.
I could feel the eyes of the other parents burning into the back of my neck. Emily continued to wail and flail. For a moment I considered giving in and sending her back to the floor with her friends. Instead, ten minutes later, I carried Emily, still screaming, into our house and deposited her on her bed.
"I want to go to gymnastics class." She shouted as I walked out and shut the door.
In the kitchen, I pulled out the newspaper and sat down at the table. I could hear Emily shouting and stomping in her room. It was one of her best performances.
Over an hour later a welcomed silence descended on the house. I heard the door to Emily's room creek open, followed by the sound of her little feet on the stairs. When I looked up, Emily was standing a few feet away from me.
"Come here, little one." I said.
Emily crawled onto my lap. She layed her cheek against mine. I kissed her on the forehead. "Do you think you'll be a better listener next week?" I asked.
Emily nodded. I hugged her closer. "I love you Mommy." She whispered as she planted a wet kiss on my cheek.
"I love you too, Honey Bee." I whispered back.
Maybe I wasn't the worst Mom in the world after all.
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