Ballet

Last night Greta asked me, "What is ballet dancing?" I showed her the various positions for a ballerina's feet and did a few stretches to show her what little I remember from ballet classes over thirty years ago. Then we did a few internet searches, and I showed Greta a beautiful little clip of a ballerina at work. It wasn't all lacy and glitter. She was in black or grey - - leg warmers and clingy pants. She was sweating as she jumped and dove and twirled. It was the most lovely thing I've seen in a long while, and Greta and I were both completely mesmerized watching this woman practice her art. After we found a few more clips like that one, I showed her the Sugar Plum Fairy dance from Nutcracker. Finally, I found a little video of a three-year old ballet class. All the little girls were in their tutus stretching and bending. Greta stood stock-still, pointed to the computer screen without taking her eyes off of it, and said, "THAT! That is what I want to do. I want to be in THAT class with those girls." This could go a bunch of directions: Greta will likely take ballet for a couple of years and then move on to something else - - the class du jour. Or she might use ballet as her personal way to express herself and stay in shape into her teen years. And, of course, there is the slightest possibility that ballet will be her calling and she'll be the principle dancer in a large production one day. ;) The end result doesn't matter to me at all. I am just really enjoying the process of her growing up. It is more fun every single day. When else do we get to influence someone's life course this way? How else would I see beauty as often in things like leaves and ants and birds? Without Greta's interest in ballet, I would never have watched that strong woman perform last night. I wouldn't be thinking of buying tickets to Sleeping Beauty when it comes to Charlotte. I wouldn't have conversations as I did this morning about how the esophagus works or how the leaves turn brown in winter because of a lack of chlorophyll (which, by the way, I had to research a little because I couldn't answer all of her questions). Children keep us smart, encourage us to reach out and reach deep. I love this journey so much and am forever changed by the challenges our babes present to me. Thanks, G.