The Wellspring of Life: Hip, Hip, Hooray

Rachel has tried her best to wear her dance shoes for awhile now. I scored a mega deal on a pair of tap shoes at a consignment sale, so I have had them for a few weeks. Wonderful mother that I am, I left them out in plain sight to tempt the poor child. Every time she would pass them, she'd pick them up and say "Wear Dancey Shoes?"

Then, last Tuesday night's date night with my hubby consisted of a yummy dinner at Outback, buying color coded towels for each member of the family, searching several stores for clearanced swimming trunks and rashguards for the boys, and pink ballet shoes for Rachel. (Yes, aren't you jealous of our smoldering romance? Hahaha!) Since the one shoe store didn't have ballet slippers in her size, we picked up the princess from Grandma's and headed to another store that was holding a pair for us. We decided she might as well try them on, and that she did. She was none too happy about taking them off either. Again, vying for "Mother of the Year" award, rather than putting them out of reach, they remained in our living room. You guessed it, I walked in several times to see her putting on her shoes. She'd look at me and grin and say, "Pink Dancey Shoes!"

So... the day finally came! Dance Class was at 4 p.m. She was excited to put on her tights and leotard and head out the door, but on our way to Shelbyville, I noticed tears in the backseat. Supposedly, it was because her sunglasses were in the van and not in the Rav. Somehow, I believe there was more to it. We were the first to arrive, and she played shy with her teacher Kacey... even though she sees her at church every week. Oh well... after the parent meeting, Kacey put the girls in their spots. Rachel was reluctant to go, so Mommy escorted her all the while positioning her in "criss cross applesauce" - a new one for this baby! We exchanged some high fives and hopefully calmed a few fears, and then, I made my exit with the other mommies.

While chattin' it up with my friend Gretchen, our girls Rachel and Libby had a ball with their first attempts at prima ballerina status. Kacey must have done a great job because when they came out to change into their tap shoes, they were both all smiles. When I asked Rachel if she had fun, she said "Cool Mommy!" Strutting her stuff in her tap shoes, she returned to class. Again, all smiles and ready to tear into her sucker at the end of class. I'm thinking dance might just be a success. To be continued next week....