Today was a day I have been dreaming of for a very long time! My daughter got to go to a dance camp! She loves to dance around the house and has been waiting all summer for today! I literally danced all of my life and even taught for years because I just couldn't walk away! So being able to dress my own little girl in a pink leotard with a pretty bun and huge pink bow brought the biggest smile to my face! Like I said Leighton dances all over the house and makes us sit down to watch her constantly, but being in a room with tons of other people stopped her in her tracks. She is more like her Daddy in the social department. Extremely shy!!! As I sat there trying to coax her to join the other little girls I had to remind myself that she is not me, she is her own person. The inner me wanted to push her in the middle of the room and scream dance girl dance! But I had to allow her to take her time and sit and watch to warm up. And then when she finally allowed me to at least sit in the back with the other moms it crushed me to watch her just sit there alone. I don't want her to miss out but I also don't want her to be so uncomfortable she doesn't enjoy things. You see it's harder for me because I truly don't understand it at all. I do not see how anyone would just want to observe and not jump into things. But that doesn't mean I'm right and their wrong, it just means I have to step back. I have to allow her to move at her own pace and support her. And as bad as I can just taste dance review time I have to be ready for her to do what she is ready to do!!!! So this is a huge learning curve for me. And in reality the more I force her I think the more she will push away from things. So while sitting in the back today every time she looked back at me I gave her a thumbs up to encourage her, even when she hadn't done a single dance move. And when she would walk over to me in between activities I would tell her how proud I was of her. I wasn't lying either, I am proud of her for not crying and not refusing to be there. Just walking in was a huge step. And towards the end of the class she was slowly participating! And she was beyond proud of herself! So today my sweet little girl went to her first dance camp, she may not of been the star of the class, she may not of danced the full time, and she may not of learned every step they taught....... But she had fun! She talked about it the whole way home and all day and that's what matters most!!
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