The Pre-K my daughter attended offered dance classes. An instructor came in once a week, and they had a recital at the end of the year. My 4 year old was dead on time in all her little dances. I was impressed. "Cool," I thought. "Maybe she didn't inherit my klutz gene, after all." Well, she graduated and moved on to kindergarten. My mother pestered me incessantly about putting her in a dance class. During her first grade year, one happened to open up down the street, so mainly to appease my mother, I enrolled her in Ballet.
"The other girls are a little older, but we will see how she does." This was to be my first conversation with a woman with whom I now share an amazing friendship. By "a little older" it meant the next girl up was 3 years older, and the oldest girls were already on pointe. My tiny dancer kept up with the dance team in their Doll-Themed ballet number, riding a rocking horse when the others went up on pointe. I was a little shocked. The next thing I know I have a letter in my hand inviting her to join company. Company? What? Where? How? COMPETITION TEAM? My kid? Are you SURE? Yes, they were sure.
I spent the nest year trying to figure out the world of jazz shoes, tights, and developing a relationship with hairspray - and the other moms, choreographers, and the director. The vets guided me through the process. As the youngest on her team, my daughter was adopted as a little sister from day one. She has been carted on countless coffee runs during break, surrounded by 20-odd girls who always make sure they have a hold on her. Now that she finally has some little ones around, she is just as careful to mother-hen her baby sisters. She has a family of extra teachers, tutors, confidants, and therapists.
Under Shannon's direction, my daughter has blossomed into a passionate, talented young lady. Her confidence shines in every step she takes. When she encountered some bullying at school this year, she had an on-site staff of sisters to hold her hand and watch her back. When she stepped onto the stage for her most challenging solo to date, she had an entire team of people cheering her on, moms, and daughters alike.
And us moms? Well, we can usually be found sitting in the hallway, coffee in hand, laughing about the latest quip that came out of one of the little ones, or the latest video that the big girls put together. We are planning play dates with the junior team, and mall dates with the senior team. The girls aren't the only one who have found a family in this life. The parents are a team as well. Whether we are hot gluing antlers onto headbands for the recital, building, carting, and painting props, or attempting to turn a strange gym into a hair salon at 6AM, we are always there to support each other. When a daughter has a "teenage moment" another mom is there to switch kids. When I hurt myself a week before the first competition, I had friends to get me down to outer Mongolia, cart me back and forth, and help me get my daughter ready. I don't know what I would do without these people.
It's not a reality show, thankfully. But it's the best reality I could hope for for my daughter.