Kentucky and Cheerleading...a way of life!

Nothing important today...well, it's important, but probably not to you the reader/follower. Cheerleading is a way of life in Kentucky. You start "rah-rah"-ing at roughly the same time you start on solid food. The first word you learn to spell is C-A-T-S and you live to see that big "K" flag flying at a UK ballgame. I mean, we have like 15 National Championships!

I have loved cheerleading my whole life...from the time I was forced to be a flyer because my semi-qualified cousins were learning new stunts at middle school practice 'til I was a base because of my lack of tumbling skills...LOL. It really didn't matter to me. I was happy just to have a uniform and being a "cheerleader" was a common thread that ran through me...and my cousins. Later in life, I started coaching and now I'm moving on to judging. I can't say it enough...I love cheerleading!

After I had my first child, a sweet baby girl, I knew tradition would carry on and there was at least another cheerleader to come from this family. One of my proudest moments was when she was about 5 and she said to me, "Mom, when I grow up I want to be a cheerleader...AND work in a crayon factory." So far, so good...she has cheered and she plans on attending college to be a chemical engineer...so, she very well could work in a crayon factory...LOL.

However, my youngest is ready for the die hard cheerleading life. She has been a cheerleader from day one and nothing is going to stop her from being the best. She wants to be a gymnast, a dancer, a whatever-she-needs-to-do...to be a "great" cheerleader. (We laugh because she has a cheer gang at school. They meet on the playground and throw down their own choreographed routines...I wish I were kidding, but I am not. She is hardcore, baby!)

Cheerleading is a way of life. I believe you either love it or loathe it. However, being from KY, I can't imagine it not affecting your life in some form or fashion. I'm glad it has been a part of my life and I hope my girls carry the love of cheering with them for many, many years.

GO BIG BLUE!