PARENTING CONUNDRUM #122

Bubby and I are all for individuality within the family. We let our children know what's right and wrong, good and bad and try to instill our basic values upon them. Beyond the families core principles, they are able to explore & create, make mistakes and develop interests with nothing but Mom and Dad smiling to support them 100% of the way. The last thing we want are four little Mini-Me's running around. Now THAT'S scary.

Now it's slapping us in the face.................

Tori has been trying to find her niche in life. At ten years of age, she is smart, sweet and a little shy. Tori's biggest obstacle is herself. She has difficulty believing in her abilities and having the confidence to speak her mind. Tori was in guitar for a year, it just wasn't her thing. She enjoys playing but hates practicing. It's kind of a lone hobby and Tori is craving interaction with others outside of her annoying little brothers.

So a couple of weeks ago, Tori came home with a brochure a friend gave her. On the front of the color photo is a girl of about ten smiling with a white uniform on with blue pom-poms. Can you guess what it was? That's right people.....cheerleading! And if that's not enough to start your stomach churning......there's more. This is a program designed to boost girls confidence in themselves in a safe and loving environment.....with Jesus right by your side. For pete's sake! Bubby LOATHES cheerleading and is practically the living Anti-Christ according to most Christians. This is bad. This is really really bad. The only thing that might be worse is if Tori came home and announced she's joining the Republican Party.

So what does Bubby do? He plasters on his best "I'm so uncomfortable smile", sucks it up, and takes our sweet little daughter down to register at the We Love Jesus Church of Holy Cheerleading. A thousand "thank-you's" from Tori and a hundred bucks later, Tori is now an official cheerleader for three months for a I love Jesus basketball team.

My only hope is that this is a phase. Tori will hate cheerleading and discover that she doesn't like hanging around people that can't think for themselves. In the meantime, you will see us every Saturday, Way Down In Mayberry with smiles plastered on our faces cheering on our number one cheerleader. Go Tori!