Her question floats quietly from the back seat of the minivan
As my daughter’s questions always do
I piece together the words
Recognize the slightly higher than usual pitch of her voice
Glance in the mirror and notice her neck stretched forward
And I explain that she has to wait until next Saturday
Her shoulders slump, her eyes fall
Next Saturday is 10 long days away
In her first-ever dance lesson
My daughter shone
Pink tights
Soft, leather ballet slippers
Orange hair all tied up in a bun not any bigger than a large grape
Her purple leotard stretched across her petite frame
Her ears stuck out
(maybe we shouldn’t grow out her bangs?)
I couldn’t take my eyes off of her
I peek again now at this middle child of mine
Gazing out the window of our moving car
Lost in her own thoughts
Completely recovered from being the lone student
In a class we both thought would have other girls
And I realize that she so very rarely gets someone’s undivided attention
And what a pleasure it must have been
Even with a teacher she just met
To have someone speaking only to her
Today in the studio
Nerves made way for excitement
For both of us
And I held back tears by smiling like a fool
While she skittered across the dance floor doing exactly as she was told
She is my girl
In her I see so much ahead
And so much of a me that was, a long time ago
When I wore my own tights and leotards
Leapt across the room to the 8-count of my instructor’s cane tapping the floor
But I have to stop myself
And just enjoy this moment, this day
As she has
As she is doing
And together we will look forward to next Saturday
Read More in Jen Writes, middle child, motherhood, three kids
Add a Comment
What a lovely moment captured. I wanted to take ballet as a little girl and wasn’t allowed to. So this post speaks straight to the little girl inside me who longs for that lesson just like your girl does. Thanks for this touching post.
Miss D. is dying to take ballet, but she has the grace of a rhino, so I’m not thinking it’s a good choice for her.
Your words create such a beautiful moment, one we’re about to experience this weekend again! I wish Z and S could be in the same class together, but, then again, having one person to pay attention to you is a gift!
Fantastic thank you has made me realised that I really should stop once in a while and enjoy each of them more
x
My daughter took ballet for the first time this summer and absolutely loved it. Pink tutu and all.
OMG, that is the sweetest post! And let me tell ya…my daughter could benefit from one on one ballet instruction, LOL!
Beautiful, Jen. Made me smile.
Good for you for relishing the moment. It’s not always so easy to do.
Honey. She is lucky to have you as her mama. Hopefully she’ll find the joy in dance you found. And on behalf of a middle child, hooray for her!
My daughter sleeps with her tutu on the night before her dance class so she’ll be ready to go when she wakes up. And ballet must be on the brain … I’m working on a haiku post for Friday about our own dance class experience. =>
Simply lovely. I often wonder how my middle son feels when he has someone’s undivided attention, and so often wish it was me that would be the one who can give him that…
Lovely indeed. Poetry in motion funneled into words, us trying to slow the circles of time down, the little dancer rushing headlong toward the next lesson.
This is so beautiful Jen, truly.
My baby, Ruby started ballet this week too. And her blonde, blonde hair tied up in a bun (barely bigger than the size of a grape!) makes me swoon. So beautiful, the images, the full hearts, the experiences. Life is good!