My Tiny Dancer

Since Peter's death, I have been down in the dumps, there is no doubt about it.  Turns out, I will not be dancing for his service this coming Saturday due to scheduling conflicts with the teachers and rehearsal times.  I did still go over to the studio last Friday night and will admit it made the pain a little more raw.  And, then, to make matters worse, my mom went by the studio to drop off a donation for the food at the service and found out that the studio will be closing.  My heart hurts and I know it will heal, things will go on, but man, this whole situation has made me realize how much and how quickly things can change in life.

I needed a pick me up and there is no better person than this little girl to do it.  Anna has been so excited to go get her "ballet things" as she calls them and she had it in her mind just what her leotard and tights would look like.  We drove over to the store this afternoon, just the two of us, and as we pulled into the parking lot, I could tell we were going to be the only ones there.  I was so glad because I knew she was a little nervous about it.  I had told her that they would need to measure her foot to see what size slipper she needed and she kind of turned up her nose at that idea.  But, when the lady asked us to sit down, Anna did happily and took her shoes off.  We found her a pair of ballet shoes and then we started looking at leotards.  Anna wanted one with an attached skirt and there were quite a few to choose from.  I pulled one out that was very simple, sleeveless and no extra ruffles or bows or anything.  She really liked that one but we still kept looking.  They had one with a rose on it which she liked but they didn't have her size.  I pulled out a few more but Anna kept going back to the first one.  The lady then pulled one just like it except with sleeves and Anna didn't hesitate one beat, she chose the one with sleeves.  I took her into the dressing room to try it on and...

Voila!

 And, no, I did not tell her to pose like this.  I simply said, "Let me see and smile.".

She even wore it out of the dressing room to show the lady working there and asked if she could wear it home!  I told her I needed to pay for it and that once we got it all home, we could put it all on.  She was okay with that until we got to the car and then, with a panicked look on her face, she asked me where the tights were.  I told her they were in the bag and that we just didn't try those on.

"Well, Mommy, after you buckle me in, I want to hold all of it.  All of it.  Okay?  And, let me see the tights because I want to see the color and didn't get to look at them in the store."

Okay. Got it. Check.

I was so excited for her and for me.  This does just warm my heart and now I know how Justin must have felt when he took Brice for his first glove, bat, and cleats.  I never wore a little pink leotard for ballet, I might have had one for gymnastics but I love seeing little girls' legs in those pink tights and little ballet shoes.  And, then when we got home, I could hardly hold back tears when she put everything on and asked for her hair in a bun.

 She told me this is her "ballet smile"!

I have some work to do on getting straight hair in a neat bun!  Not used to it and will of course need a hair net!  But, overall, I would say she is definitely ready to go!

Hope ballet camp is as much of a success as getting dressed for it was!  Camp isn't until the end of July.  I am so happy to have this special memory with her.  My tiny dancer.