Annabel dropped out of her Fall dance class because…well, I don’t really know why. And when I say she dropped out, I really mean I ended it after four weeks of listening to her whine and cry and complain the minute we walked into the room and I put on her ballet slippers.
It was really strange because she LOVED ballet just 6 months earlier. She loved the leotard and the pink tights and putting her hair up in a bun. She loved the music and the new friends and learning to pirouette. But that passion was gone. I think it was the combination of a brand new ballet studio and that she had just started preschool. There was a lot of change. It was so sad because she told me she didn’t like dancing anymore. That broke my heart. I know she loves to dance because she is constantly singing and twirling around our house 24/7. I guess she didn’t like dancing in a class setting. And I didn’t want her to stay in a dance class just because I wanted her to. I did hate the idea of quitting, but it was costing me money to have her sit in the corner with a pout and just watch the other girls have fun. SHE was supposed to be having fun! And she wasn’t.
Fast forward to January and I thought I would try dance again. I signed her up for a class at the first ballet studio she attended. She was hesitant the first few weeks and wanted me to sit in the corner of the room while they practiced. Luckily this studio was super laid back so they were fine with that. And, eventually, she was comfortable again and went it alone while I stayed in the waiting area.
It’s so funny how little moments with kids become HUGE accomplishments. After stressing for weeks over why she didn’t like dance anymore, suddenly I was back at a place where she was dancing again and was 100% fine. Last week was the final dance recital and she did awesome. Not only because she remembered most of the steps, but because she was HAPPY.
And that’s what it’s always all about.
