Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith by Gabrielle Douglas & Michelle Burford

Author:Gabrielle Douglas & Michelle Burford [Douglas, Gabrielle & Burford, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Juvenile Nonfiction, General
ISBN: 9780310740681
Google: J-QT7nMIPbsC
Amazon: B009SRRVYY
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2012-11-27T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

When I let go of what I am,

I become what I might be.

When I let go of what I have,

I receive what I need.

—THE TAO TE CHING, ANCIENT CHINESE TEXT

IN AUGUST, I DID A LOT OF SULKING. MOM WOULD BARELY EVEN DISCUSS my idea of moving to Iowa to train with Chow. So I tried another approach: rounding up reinforcements. One evening, I huddled with my two sisters and told them just how passionate I was about this idea. “If I don’t make this move,” I explained, “I may never get to the Olympics.” They immediately got it. “I need you to help me out with this,” I told them. “We all have to persuade Mom.”

Arielle — the sibling who has the best track record for getting through to our mother — made a list of pros and cons. She and Joyelle then presented that list to Mom one evening when our mother was already in a fairly good mood. “On the plus side,” Arielle explained, “Brie might get a coach she can bond with. Her confidence level would increase. Her skill level would improve, making her more competitive among elite gymnasts. And Brie might also make it all the way to London and get the gold.” She paused before continuing. “Of course, there is one huge con — we’d all miss her so much.”

“But pleeeease, Mom,” Joy added, “you just have to let her go. There’s no other way she’ll make it to the Olympics.”

John was the one voice of dissent — he couldn’t see Mom sending his sidekick and baby sister to another state. “If you send her to Iowa,” he said, “how will I be able to protect her all the way from Virginia?!”

Mom didn’t say too much after my sisters made their case. But she also didn’t say no, and as far as I was concerned, that was major progress. After Arielle and Joy had pleaded with Mom in a series of follow-up conversations, I could tell something had clicked. Mom was actually starting to change her mind.

Kaiya and I will always be friends — but when she left Excalibur in 2009, we missed seeing each other at the gym for so many hours every week. Once Kaiya moved on, I formed an even tighter bond with another amazing friend. Her name is Beka.

Beka and I did just about everything together — both inside the gym and away from it. I sometimes even spent the night at her house. On double-session days, my mother and Beka’s mother took turns picking up both of us. On Mom’s days, she often took us to play at a little park behind Kempsville Library once our homework was done. After gym, we loved snacking on Hot Pockets and peaches. Then if we were at Beka’s house, we’d create our own obstacle course in her backyard. On the days when I was staying at Beka’s house for a sleepover, we’d put on our Heelys (those shoes with the wheels embedded into the soles) and roller skate all over the neighborhood.

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