Journey across a long trampoline
When Ashlynn was three, I enrolled her in gymnastics.
I knew it was going to be awesome. She was so cute in her little pink leotard and ponytail. I can still remember how much fun she had. I can also remember being heartbroken and sitting there hurting. The favorite activity was a long, large trampoline. The kids would all wait their turn and then happily jump forward down it with ease.
I didn’t know at the time Ashlynn had developmental coordination disorder and dystonic cerebral palsy.
Even if I did, I’m sure I still would have felt a tinge of pain as I watched her get on the trampoline. Only thing was she couldn’t jump on a trampoline. Her little body bent up and down at the knees knowing what it should do but she just couldn’t do it. She started to hold up line. Anxious toddlers yelled at her to “go!” so she tried to walk. She kept falling so an instructor had to go hold her hand and walk her to the end.
Though my heart was hurting her happy face caught mine and she was anything but sad. This would be the start of this little hero teaching me the real lessons about life and spoiler alert it’s not about being perfect and never failing. Quite the opposite.
We’ve had years and years of OT And PT now at this point. While other kids spent their time playing and doing things like jumping on trampolines that came easy to them, Ashlynn learned to do it alongside therapists.
Today I took my kids to an indoor trampoline park by our house. It finally opened after being closed for COVID and we bought them a season pass. My husband has been taking them consistently for about a week. It always takes Ashlynn time to acclimate to a place.
At one point I looked over to see Ashlynn on a long trampoline. She was jumping across it with another girl that looked like her age. They were playing racing games and other things. Looking at her, the average person would have no idea how far this girl has come. She looked like any other 11-year-old out there just being a kid.
My mind flashed back to that gym all those years ago now and the pain I felt. I had not thought of it in such a long time. I wonder if part of me had blocked it out.
As I watched today, I saw years of speech therapy though allowing her to be conversational and speak to and play with this peer. I saw years of OT And PT that built her strength and taught her the motor planning for something so many parents take for granted – a child jumping.
I remembered the lessons I’ve learned on this 11-year journey with Ashlynn, and they are many. Suffice it to say, I have learned progress beats perfection. I have learned for each time you fall, to get up 100 more times still smiling. I’ve learned happiness is in the journey not the destination. I have learned that no matter how bleak it seems, the human spirit is limitless, and no one can ever predict the power of resilient soul who refuses to give up.
Ironically as I was thinking these things a song came on. It was Ashlynn’s first song ever she tried to sing along to on the radio. It’s Mumford’s and Son’s I will wait. I wrote about this in my book and quoted the lyrics that were poignant to me. They were poignant then, and they are poignant now, and Ashlynn I promise, I will always wait for you and be cheering you on.