And this chocolate coin medal is awarded for…

We’ve had interesting conversations about the value of earning a medal in our household this week, as T has just earned her very first medal for completing a four-month gymnastics course.

Families were invited to watch a display on the final week (normally B and I hang out with all the nannies, coats and strollers until class is finished). C left work early specially, and B was bursting with excitement to finally watch T on the trampoline, bars and floor. At the end of the display, each gymnast was called to jump up onto a box, arms raised, and receive a medal. B begged for a turn. The coach agreed, so B clambered up onto the box, raised her arms, and beamed expectantly. Nothing happened. “But where is my medal?” she called reproachfully.

So now we’ve been talking a lot about what it means to really work hard for a long time and earn a medal, that it isn’t simply a sticker given out for showing up. C showed the girls his Paris Marathon medal, explaining the months of all-weather training he had to do in order to be strong enough to complete the race. My brother W has one for finishing the utterly horrendous “toughest foot race on earth”, the Marathon Des Sable. To the best of my knowledge, I’ve never recieved a medal. Though for years I did treasure a brown rosette for taking part in Nairobi’s Pony Club Camp 1989…

B has absorbed this, and now comes up with suggestions for things she should get a medal for. These include “loving Flower Bunny so very much”, “eating all my cereal” and “flushing the loo all by myself.” I’ve agreed that these are worth a chocolate coin left over from Christmas, and T let her wear the gym medal for two whole minutes.

But the idea has rather struck me. Here are some of the things I feel I deserve a chocolate coin medal for this week, in no particular order:

• Not swearing aloud when B had an accident in her clothes literally two minutes after I fired off the communal washing machine
• Keeping a straight face when T declared “my eyebrows hurt when I wake up, Mumma”
• Hosting two separate play dates in one week, resisting the urge to panic-clean the apartment beforehand
• Catching the subway uptown and back again without getting lost (victory!)
• Writing two blog posts in a single week (excellent vanquishing of my Christmas-induced procrastination)

Well done, well done.

So, what do you guys deserve chocolate coin medals for this week?

This week’s Highs & Lows: 

Highs:

• Seeing T’s pride on completing her first Gymnastics course

Lows:

• Honestly I can’t think of anything. It’s been a great week.

Author: Alex

Hello. Toddling Round New York is my own little blog of our family's experience of moving young kids from London to New York... And of having a baby out here. They are my own baby steps of exploring this incredible city. I lived in five countries in four continents growing up, so you'd think I'd be good at this by now. Here you'll find stories and photographs of our adventures, the highs and the lows of expat parenthood, and some ideas I hope you'll find useful if you're in New York with young kids. View all posts by Alex