"The flower that follows the sun does so even on cloudy days." -Robert Leighton

Monday, January 25, 2010

5. My Heart Dances With Her

Okay, I have to admit something.  I always thought people who put their daughters in dance class at the age of 3 were mostly doing it just for themselves.  Let's face it- what little girl dressed in a dance costume couldn't make her parent's heart melt?  Because of my preconceived ideas, I was very reluctant to have Ashlynn join a dance class.  Since she was 2, she had been telling me she wanted to learn how to dance.  I thought to myself, "You are 2...how could you possibly know you want to dance!" 
Well, I finally signed her up this past fall and she has absolutely loved it! She wears a smile on her face during every practice. A day hardly passes without her asking when her dance class is. She loves her girl friends in the class, she adores her teacher, she loves the beautiful costumes and she feels so good about herself. Every little girl deserves to feel that way and... it's great exercise!

Here is Ashlynn getting ready for the recital.  She, of course, had to wear her princess robe while she was getting ready and she loved wearing mommy's mascara and blush-a requirement from the dance company.  She performed in front of hundreds...yes, hundreds... of people!!!  I almost had a heart attack for her.  At first I felt really bad for putting my daughter in that position.  I naively thought there would be about 50 people in the audience.  Why didn't anyone tell me?  Ashlynn was a little stunned when she saw all those people, but she got over it and just danced.  Backstage she told me she wanted to do it again!    My heart rejoices in the fact she has this opportunity and that she isn't paralyzed by shyness and fear like her mommy.

This is her whole class.  Aren't they darling?  Believe it or not...Ashlynn is only 3, the youngest in her class, but the tallest one in the group!

3 comments:

Mandy said...

How cute! I'm so glad she loves it. I can't wait to put Paige in dance. And yes, I think it is more for me, but hopefully she'll love it.

The Blaisdell Family said...

Oh what a cutie!! She looks so happy in that group picture, I love it! Avery had her 3 yr. check up yesterday....97% for height!! She is by far the youngest in her sunbeam class but is by far the tallest!

I'll be one of those parents that you think I put Avery in dance for myself because she'll fight it to some degree. But I just want her to have confidence at a young age and get over the fear of simple things.

So glad Ashlynn enjoys dancing so much. I bet you are a proud mama!

Ben and Tanya said...

I agree- These days especially, I think young girls need to start at an early age developing their self esteem. If she doesn't like dance -maybe it will be something else that fits her better. Also-Avery IS very tall! That's great. Ashlynn will have one more thing in common with her best friend! I can't even remember when Ashlynn was even on the chart!