Simply 6 Minutes – 22Sept2020

Nausea rises!

It does not compute that I am back in a school gym.

All those years of forced comradery. Forced athleticism.

I was no kind of gym junkie. Jock. Cheerleader.

Get me out of here, was top of my playlist.

The smell as you enter so reluctantly, brings it all back.

Gym sweat, gym gear, peer crushing, humiliation, bullying.

Not for me memories of past triumphs. Game night. Winners!

For me it is the little guy, the loser, the nerd.

Now as a parent, I find myself here with forced smile and bonhomie.

Supporting a child who also does not fit. Who does not want to be here.

I feel huge guilt and pressure. As a parent, I need to encourage team spirit. Love of the game.

As a person, I hate it all. I need to take my son’s hand and walk away…