Yesterday was rough. She was emotional from the moment she walked in the door from school. A huge tidal wave of releasing the tics that she had held in throughout the day immediately began, and she was crying within the first 15 minutes.

Then she went to the gym and landed a round-off back tuck and a front punch.

She shrugged it off like it was no big deal, telling me "Well, Mom, I AM a level 3 cheerleader!"

I wanted to say "You are also an 8 year old little girl with tourette's syndrome, who an hour ago couldn't control the jerking and twitching of every limb on your body!"

She doesn't think on the same level that I do. I see how amazing it is for her to walk into that gym and participate in such a demanding sport. Every time she tumbles, every time she is stunting in the air, it takes my breath away. I am proud of her in a way that I could never express to anyone in this world.

She doesn't even think about tourette's syndrome on practice nights. All she thinks about is how hard she has to work to succeed at competitive cheer.... and she does succeed.