My Little Ballerina

One of Squirrel's favorite things to do is dance. I swear this child even danced in the womb, and hasn't stopped moving since. She participates in ballet classes here in our little town and really enjoys it. She loves to dance, but I think that more than dancing, she loves an audience. For that reason, the most exciting part of the year for her is her ballet recital. I am amazed at the way she "turns on" for an audience and relishes the applause. This is her second year in ballet, and this year, the school put on selections from "Alice in Wonderland."

Squirrel's class got to dance as the "Sweets" in the Mad Tea Party.

I have to say, there was something about seeing her dance this year that stopped my heart. She seemed so grown up and graceful. I saw this year, in this little preschooler, the seeds of elegance and self-awareness. Part of that is probably that my new work schedule prohibits me from taking her to ballet class each week--a precious privilege now delegated to the babysitter--, so I don't get to see her growth, but part of it is that my wiry, clumsy preschooler is becoming a beautiful girl, and by the next time I blink, she'll be a young lady, and then a young woman. Oh, how I adore seeing her grow and bloom and blossom...but oh, how I cling to her precious innocence at each stage. She is lovely beyond measure, and as silly as it may seem, something like a little small-town ballet recital can so easily remind me how desperate I am to help her turn into the woman I know she can be.

Sigh...so much babbling...my apologies. She is about to have a birthday, I am about to have a baby, and all this makes me extra sentimental.

Without further ado, here are a few photos of my little "Sweet," the joy of my heart.

{That smile will win me over even when my sight is all but gone and 

all I have is a dim memory of its glimmer...}

{After the show}