The real story here is about me and my experience throughout this difficult period of our lives.  My grandparents wanted to put me into Sacred Heart Chatholic School. They thought it would be better than public schools. My mom, however, disagreed because she wanted my sister and I to have the opportunity to become involved in sports, which Sacred Heart didn't have. So, when I turned 5, I was enrolled at Mckinley Elementary School. Also, around the same time my mom asked me what sport I wanted to do.  I was a very active child.  I don't mean I just liked to run around and never sat still; I stood on my head, I flipped off the couches, I jumped into middle splits on the ground, I ran fast, I did cart-wheels and somersaults all over! So one day, I remember driving with my mom down 30th street and she gave me the choice of putting me in gymnastics or modeling. I really like the idea of both of those, but my heart was set on gymnastics. It wasn't too long after that, that I began lessons at Brookside Gymnastics on Dustin street.

Going back to my grandparents, they were both raised around the horses and rodeoing and so was my mother and her siblings. My grandpa had me riding horses when I was 3.  He then had me running barrels and poles when I was 6.  To him this was the way it's suppose to be. He was raising me just like he did his own children.  Unfortunately, I hated riding horses.  I had fallen off or been bounced off one too many times. Horses scared me and I wasn't the least bit interested in riding or rodeo. This was really upsetting to my grandpa as I am sure he never had a kid who didn't like horses. He made me ride anyway.  I remember that every Sunday morning he would load up the horses, saddles, bridles, food, water and more. Then he would meet a few other friends out in the middle of literally no where and ride until about noon.  I wasn't given a choice but was forced to go. Oh my did I hate those mornings. I remember making myself very scarce on those mornings in hopes that he would leave without me.  I was a gymnast not a rodeo girl! 

Fortunately, in the face of my grandparents views, strictness, and beliefs my mom was my saving grace. My grandparents were only doing what they knew best, but it wasn't best for me. I was different.

My sister was the baby of the family. She recieved a lot of positive attention from my grandparents. She, I swear, could do no wrong. To this day I don't know if she liked riding horses or not, but she did it.  She was the easy going, cute, grandma and grandpa's little girl. The funny thing is I remember her being such a brat. Of course, what sibling doesn't? Maybe I was a hellion.  I don't really think that I was because bad behavior was not tolerated with me grandparents. We recieved many spankings.  Or at least, I recieved many spankings.  I am positive I was like most kids who have their bratty moments but I really don't think I was as impossible as my grandparents made me out to be. I don't want to set my grandparents up to look like the bad guys because like I said before, they were doing their best.  They became responsible for 2 little girls and helping my mom long after they had raised their kids. If it wasn't for them, who knows where my mom, my sister and myself would have ended up. They really did a lot for us.

 

Well as I grew up, gymnastics was so my thing.  I was good at it and it came fairly natural to me. The gym became my home away from home. I am sorry to say that my gymnastics practices got me out of a lot of horse back riding, which made me so happy. I loved practice.  I almost never missed a day. When I first started gymnastics my coach was Neil Merrion, who actually remained one of my coachs until I was 16. He didn't have his own gym yet so we practiced at San Juan college on some wrestling mats. A few years later Neil built his own fully loaded gymnastics gym on Browning Parkway. It was that greatest place ever! I now had 3 coaches and more to come. Before, the only apparatuses we had was a low small beam, the floor and a vault. I had never experienced the uneven bars until the gym opened. My training became so much more involved.  It was awesome. I will never forget when I started to learn how to do skills on the uneven bars, the amount of blisters(rips) I had on my hands.  If one healed another happened. My hands were so sore, I could hardly take hanging on the bar. Fortunately, over time my hand became very tough and calloused. In gymnastics it's a good thing but in school for a girl it's not so much.

Eventually, I was able to start competing in competitions all over New Mexico. Gymnastics was my life. I looked forward to it every day. I couldn't wait to get out of school and go to practice.

My mom was my personal cheerleader. She supported me throughout my whole gymnastics career. When she was going to school she had a hard time paying for my lessons, because unlike school sports, this one was very expensive.  She had to pay for tuition, which I remember at one time was over a hundred dollars a month, practice leotards,competition leotards and warm-ups, gas, hotels, and food. She so much wanted me to be apart of this sport that her and I both loved so much, that she selflessly cleaned the whole gym on a regular basis in exchange for my tuition. Thank goodness for Neil Merrion and his kindness. And thank goodness for my humble mother and her determination to do what she could to keep me in gymnastics.