My son's gym had a "family day" in honor of National Gymnastics Day. Of course the boys had fun, but I was surprised at how wide my grin was throughout the afternoon. I'm sure I looked like a complete fool, but I got a pretty pink medal for participating in a hula-hooping contest open only for moms. (Thank goodness I didn't have to do chin-ups like the dads!) My sons are the hooping experts, so it is a shame they couldn't be my proxy, but at least my youngest got to show off a bit of his gymnastics moves for the audience later in the program.

I attempted the parallel bars and pommel horse routines that I've seen my son do millions of times. Naturally the coaches got a kick out of that. (One remarked, "You've been watching your son carefully, haven't you?") The instructors had us participate in relay races, jumping on the springboard, and generally drawing out more sweat than I've experienced in awhile. They enjoyed laughing at the parents, and of course the gymnasts thought it was terrific.

I'm still a little sticky and my arms are sore.

The highlight for my son was two-fold: showing me his unspotted back handsprings on trampoline, and doing front tucks over his coach into the foam pit. He was also pretty amused at my various attempts to do gymnastics.

I'm still grinning, and my son has stolen the sparkly pink medal.