Gym'nastics.

Emma Kate takes tumbling and loves it. Her favorite thing to do this winter was to go to Aubie's 'Nastics Meets. I must say, Auburn gymnastics puts on quite a show. So, the week of the Florida meet, I was working with a student who is applying to medical school. Right away I recognized her name as one of Aubie's Gymnasts. I emailed her and told her that Emma Kate would LOVE to meet her after the meet that Friday. She was so gracious and said that she would love to meet EK.We watched to entire meet and all Emma Kate could talk about was her new best friend (that she had not yet met), Krissy. Every time someone stepped up to the vault run, she would say "Is 'dat Miss Krissy?." On the beam, "Is 'dat Miss Krissy?" Everything was "Miss Krissy."
After the meet, the girls were doing a signing session around the outer perimeter of the Coliseum. We ran up, got our poster and we were 3rd in line. SCORE. We waited patiently in line while the awards ceremony was going. We heard that Krissy had scored very high and placed in one event. When a gymnast places in the top three on any single event or overall, they are given an orange and blue bouquet of flowers.One by one, the AU gymnasts made it to the autograph table. They started pushing us down the line. Emma Kate was loving all the gymnasts, but there was only one she was longing to see. At the end of the table, where the other senior was sitting, there was one empty chair. We moved on down the line.
No Krissy.
Emma Kate kept saying, "Where is Krissy, mommy?"
I. Don't. Know.
Let's backtrack and explain how much I had talked up this little intro with Krissy. A LOT. Obnoxious. With a capital O. And I had been rubbing it in to Mike. He is the king of "big AU introductions." He is BFF with one the AU basketball coaches. He shoots the breeze with Trooper Taylor at high school basketball games. He has AU Men's Basketball Players on speed dial and they come to his kids' basketball practices to "inspire." He takes Emma Kate to the Basketball Offices upstairs in the coliseum to "Hang out" with the players and coaches. Coach Lebo's Dad, also Coach Lebo, help's Mike out with his play book.
So, let's just say, I had been so excited that I was going to deliver such a big AU celebrity in Emma Kate's eyes.
As we got to the last chair in the autograph session, Krissy was still no where in site. Emma Kate was almost to tears. Mike was explaining that we could see (AU BBALL PLAYER) Frankie Sullivan the next night at the basketball game.
EPIC FAIL.
We decided to just check the floor to see if she was still down there for some reason. "Maybe that is her?" I said as I squinted to see the four people left down by the floor mat. "Is dat Krissy, momma? Negative.
Then, suddenly, Mike says "Isn't that her?" It was. She was right beside us, about to walk into the herd of people waiting to get her signature. I called her name. She stopped in her tracks and turned to us. She came over to Emma Kate, bent down and said hello. She talked to her about tumbling and thanked her for coming to all the meets. Of course, I asked if she would pose for a picture. Of course, she agreed. She handed Emma Kate her award bouquet for the picture. Emma Kate was in awe. She said goodbye and I told Emma Kate to give her award bouquet back. Krissy said, "No, no, she can keep it! I gave it to her."SCORE. I had delivered!! Emma Kate was in love. With Krissy. With the flowers. With everything. Mike laughed at me all night as I talked about how great Emma Kate's new BFF was. I think he was a little jealous: No basketball player has ever presented Emma Kate with flowers!