Merry Christmas! Another fee is due.

Medal display rack, courtesy my sister Jean.

Yes, sometimes you look at the situation and grit your teeth so as not get too frustrated.  Two days ago I went to the front desk of my daughter's gym and asked "Am I paid up for all of the upcoming meets, or should I anticipate any other fees?"  My answer was "No, you're good."  I took that as yes, I was finally on top of things...   NOT!!!!

No sooner did I rest, thinking I was able to go out and purchase Christmas gifts.... then last night I received an email.... "$115.00 in additional fees for the Coach's transportation to the (out of State meet)  are due before January 1st."

Well, ain't that just a wake up call!   This is a new gymnastics studio.  I understand that they are still in a learning curve, but...  I can't be the only parent in this situation - there is no way on earth that I'm going to be able to come up with that amount in such a short time without sacrificing either food or utilities...  so I wrote the gym back, begging for mercy, and a payment plan.

 So far this month I've forked out:

$190.00 for Level 4 training tuition    -  went to Gym
$110.00 for the State Meet this weekend for Coaches fees   - paid thru Gym
$125.00 for private lessons - paid directly to Coach
$ 30.00  for State Championship wearables - paid through Gym  (didn't HAVE to do this.. but then my daughter would feel left out...)
$   5.00 my fee to get into the State Championships to watch my daughter's performance.
(watching my daughter compete... absolutely priceless!)

and it's only the 9th of the month...

In all fairness, I doubt seriously that the Gym owner is making a huge profit, most of the money goes to paying the staff, facility costs and overhead expense.

It does appear that the Coaches live a lot better than we do - but then again these people live at the gym and rarely spend quality time with their own families and I know my daughter's coach has a child  a little younger than my daughter's age. Every weekend during the competition season (which is usually 9 months out of the year) the coaches give all of their time either in  private lessons, or teaching a class or attending a meet with their team.

What Svetlana's done for Emily is worth far more to me than the money I am spending... The ADHD/Asperger's meds ran over $200 a month and Emily was slowly becoming dependent on synthetic mood altering preparations.  It's an expensive sport, but... my daughter's behavioral issues are all but gone at this point and there's no need for medication.  We have three more exhibition meets after the State Championship! I just hope my pocketbook will hold out.

There seems to be no help for the weary.  Well, God willing,  I can continue to have her in this sport, as she has already proven that she's a contender, I know that sooner or later she'll get sponsorships and some of the financial weight will come off of me, but until then I keep my fingers crossed and pray for a way to keep this all together. Wish me luck!