A Dream is a Wish. . .

Every little girl dreams of being a ballerina, right? Well, maybe, but I bet most moms have dreamed it at one point for their little girls as well! I'm not sure how long it took after finding out that I was going to have a girl for me to wonder if she would love dance as I do. But not long! I can picture her lighting up the stage, having perfect technique and confidence, dancing many different styles, and loving every minute of it. Now, I know some stage moms, and it is a very scary sight. So I'm not saying that I'll turn into a monster (well maybe a little bit) but I can't deny that I would love to be standing off to the side, camera in hand, beaming with pride.

What I never imagined, is that I would already be doing that, even though she is not yet two. Evelyn was about 4 months old when I went back to teaching dance. And she came with me. At first she would just lay there and I would hope she didn't need to eat during class. Then she started sitting up and watching the girls dance. As soon as she could crawl, she would crawl after them, laughing as they danced around the room. She just barely learned to walk before summer of last year and I took the summer off from teaching at the Y. I was a little apprehensive about bringing her to class in the fall because she was running all over and very busy. I thought I would try it, see what happened and if it was a nightmare I would just have to arrange childcare. I was so surprised at how well she did! She loves coming to class with me. I give her a snack at first and she watches the girls. Then I let her out of the stroller and she runs across the room with them as they do their floor dances (going from one side to the other in different steps and formations.) She tries to waltz, gallop, jump, and twirl with them. I see her watching them and then trying to imitate their moves and my heart melts, just a little bit (I posted a video of this on facebook.) The girls of course love her. They bring her presents, ask about her when she's not there, and by now, boss her around! "Evelyn, don't climb in your stroller" "Evelyn, do you want a ball?" "Evelyn, you can't chew on that!" They even know her middle name, and just like we do, call her Evelyn Joy all the time. It's absolutely adorable and just about nothing makes me happier than to see her dance around the room with them during free dance or run up to the barre and put her chubby hands next to theirs. We talk about "Going to the Y to watch the girls dance" and she is always excited to be there with them.

So will she love dance when she is their age? Will she still want to dance across the room and laugh in delight at the way it feels to twirl and jump to the music? Only time will tell. But, I've learned the best thing about dreams is to see the ones coming true around you right now and just live in that moment.