It Takes a Village…

Raising a child is hard, right?  Raising a cheerleader though…even harder?  There are certain aspects of life that only cheer parents understand. You’ve seen the shirts that say, “I can’t…she has cheer,” or “My life: go to work – take kid to cheer – pick kid up from cheer – sleep – repeat,” and you chuckle, because it is totally relatable. I tell my friends at work that being at work is my quiet time…my controlled chaos. Because once I leave work, I am frantically trying to get home, maybe cook something, cheer practice, baseball practice, homework, etc. My friends think I’m crazy, and ask how I can do all of that. The answer is…I can’t. Not without help, anyway.

For me, and many others, my job hours prevent me from being able to get my daughter to practice on time, and I’ve been slowly weighing the pros and cons of freelance vs self-employed for the last year or so because of it. I rely on somebody else to take my kid to practice. It’s kind of a “you take the kids, I pick up the kids” kind of arrangement. It works, and I would be lost without the support of other parents.

We also support each other in many ways as well. In our gym, our parents are “the Team behind the Team,” and it rings so true.

We use an app called GroupMe, where we can share information, ask for help, make transportation arrangements, etc. It is truly helpful for setting up carpools, or finding somebody interested in sharing hotel rooms to keep travel costs a bit lower. It is also helpful in crisis situations. I’m sure anybody reading this can relate to the following:

  • Does anybody have any hair ties?
  • Does anybody have any KT or medical tape?
  • Does anybody have any hairspray?
  • Can anybody help with hair and/or make-up?
  • Can anybody sew?
  • Does anybody have any Tylenol or Advil?
  • Does anybody have jumper cables?
  • Or recently, does anybody have a gas can? I’m stranded!

As a parent, I love watching my kid master a new skill. I also love watching another kid learn a new skill, and seeing the joy on her/his parent’s face as well. I love being with the other parents when our teams win…or don’t win. I have hugged on them, cried on them, you name it!  (I’m kind of a big baby when it comes to our kids)  We, like our kids, are in this together.

When I see our teams practice, perform, or just hang out together, I am always uplifted by their sense of camaraderie. I love how they learn the true aspects of being a team…how it is about all of them working together, not just them as a singular athlete. For us parents, it is the exact same way. When we all work together, anything is possible!

Through cheer, my daughter has made some of the best friends of her life.

So have I.

I love my village, and I couldn’t be successful without them.

 

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It Takes a Village… Raising a child is hard, right?  Raising a cheerleader though…even harder?  There are certain aspects of life that only cheer parents understand. You’ve seen the shirts that say, “I can’t…she has cheer,” or “My life: go to work – take kid to cheer – pick kid...