Several weeks ago, parents were allowed in to the ballet studio to observe again.  I just can’t help myself – each time I take a ton of photos of Anna.  She’s working so hard! 

At the end of January, we decided to let Anna add a few ballet classes to her week which would allow her to perform in the May recital.  Thus far we’ve eased into ballet – for several years Anna took one class a week.  Last fall we added a second class per week, and now decided it’s time to see if Anna enjoys performing.  We have now committed to three full ballet classes a week and a short conditioning class following one of them, so we’re driving to the studio three times a week.  It’s a big commitment for this family who values time at home together and not running every night of the week.  But, Anna needs to see how much she truly loves ballet and whether performing is for her.  If she doesn’t love it, we’ll drop back to one or two classes a week.  If she loves it, then we talk about really committing to ballet for her.  So far she’s handled the adjustment very well.

On the way to ballet, Anna and I play games in the car and I love it.  Our favorites are I Spy, Name That Tune (“I can name that tune in four notes”; one person hums the first four notes of a song and the other tries to guess), I’m Thinking Of…(one person thinks of something, names the category – types of dessert, for example – and the other person has five tries to guess it), and the old standby, Truth or Dare.  

There are times during my week with the kids that I think to myself, “I’m going to miss this one day.  Enjoy this moment.”  Driving to ballet, standing at pick-up after school, quizzing Anna on spelling words, watching the kids make lunches each night, James studying for a quiz over breakfast.  It’s going by so fast and I’m trying hard to appreciate each moment and stage.