Tuesday, March 1, 2016

My kindergartner loves to dance.  I mean, she truly loves to dance.  She twirls her way through life.  If it wasn't a passion for her, there's no way I'd suffer through recital week.  That week, so considerately scheduled for the second week of June (otherwise known as the week that, quite surely, is a teacher's breaking point), consists of nightly 4.5 hour dress rehearsals.  Cherubs must arrive at 4 (because hey, that's easy for working parents!) in full make-up (yes, my five-year-old has the option of placing her very own Mary Kay order), without a hair out of place in their perfectly placed buns (do you know what it's like for this wash and go mom to have to watch videos supplied by the dancing school on perfect bun placement?!?).  Then, that last weekend of the school year, that weekend that should be consumed with entering students' final grades, is, instead, spent nudging my husband to keep him awake as we watch the 3.5 hour recital, only to have my seven year old sit in tears because, five minutes after intermission, right before my daughter is about to get on stage for her two minute debut (yes, two minutes out of that 3.5 hour recital), he simply has to go to the bathroom.  It's divine.

But, in all seriousness, my daughter loves to dance.  And so I persevere.  Once a week I rush out of school, my "bag of guilt" overflowing, pick up my daughter, meet my son at the bus, and whisk her away to dance class.  I sit for an hour every Tuesday, giving my son glares of death as he attempts to mentally destroy me, overhearing moms debate whether or not to continue volunteering in the school because, with half day kindergarten and volunteering, they're only left with two hours of "me time."

Today though. . . . Today was different.  Today when I stumbled into her after care program, not a hair in place, dance bag falling off my shoulder, my daughter greeted me by saying, "Mommy, can I skip dance class today?  I really want to go home and read my book."  Have sweeter words ever been spoken?  And for half a second, I struggled with my decision.  A commitment is a commitment.  Our word has value.

But, dear reader, mama had a book she wanted to go read, too.  And heck, my kindergartner loves to read!!!

5 comments:

  1. What sweet words!!! Enjoy that sweetness so much right now! :) Just wait until she's 10 and you have to ban books because she's reading them on the toilet while you "gently nudge" her to get downstairs because you have to get to work! :) hahaha I'm looking forward to more Kindergarten sweetness.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the commentary in parentheses! I could really hear your voice. This reminds me of taking my kids to swim lessons. And I LOVE that reading took priority for your little one. Wonderful story!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a gift from heaven. Sometimes kindergarteners are the ones who make the most rational decisions. So glad you were able to say yes. Hopefully you have many, many more years of reading together.

    ReplyDelete
  4. just the thought of watching videos of "perfect bun placement"...(shudder)...

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a delightful unexpected request that I was NOT expecting. You set this up perfectly for a surprise.....

    I love the "bag of guilt." Bravo Mama! Your daughter loves to dance and READ!

    ReplyDelete