Tiny Ballerina

You know how parents have expectations for their children? Not the demanding-type of expectation that junior is going to be a concert pianist, get straight A's, and be a high school football star. But the kind of expectations that say, "Oh, my daughter LOVES to sing. She has pretty good pitch, and I bet she's going to be pretty good singer someday."

Well, my kids seem bound and determined to prove every one of my expectations wrong. Kyle, while very talented athletically, just doesn't have any sort of competitive drive and is probably not going to be out on the field in high school. 

And before this year, I would have assumed that maybe dancing was going to be Marie's thing - given her rhythm, her propensity to dance around the house anytime music is playing, and the begging for dance classes. Instead I've heard comments about how "dance class just isn't that much fun."

Last night was parent observation at the studio, and I'm pretty sure I wore a giant smile across my face the entire time. Partly, because I was laughing at the awkwardness of my sweet little ballerina. Let's face it, she's not the most coordinated, graceful girl in the bunch. Clearly, my kids inherited that from me.

But mostly I was smiling because of how hard she was trying. She kept stealing glances at me, wondering if I was watching. And I was. I loved watching her so much, I thought my heart would burst.

And while I wouldn't bet on the fact that she's going to be a ballerina, I'm going to enjoy every moment of this stage, and wait with eagerness for that summer recital in June.

Besides, I think she's probably more of a hip-hop girl.