An Olympic Gymnast’s Mom

Early, early in Shawn’s life, when she was young, she displayed immediate signs of exuberance, too much energy, and just bouncing all over the place. I joke with people, and you know, she wasn’t very well behaved and it’s not because she as bad, she just constantly was moving or into stuff or onto stuff, or, I mean, just constantly. Just way too much energy. She was very creative in trying to find real strategic ways to stack her toys or manipulate her toys in ways that you turn to a higher vantage point. I think she was born with the need for the adrenaline rush that you get when, you know, fear, or daring. She used to, one specific time, she, my husband used to put her on, stand her on our kitchen table, which, tha sounds awful, but you know, he would stand her on the table and just back away and she would jump, he’d catch her and this one particular time he was clear across the room and it didn’t register to her that he wasn’t right there and so she jumped, he wasn’t there, landed on the floor.

I think I have a favorite moment of every competition, it’s, you know, we had spoke that we don’t get to see her except for when we’re in the stands and she’s pm the floor and every competition, and I don’t care how big the arena is, she has never any idea where we’re going to be sitting, but she finds us in the stands and we make eye contact. So that’s my favorite part of every competition, when I know, she knows I’m there. That’s huge.