Wait For It

Peyton and Adah got to experience one of their much anticipated "firsts" this past week ... their first ballet class. They were in awe. Running around a large room lit by rays of early morning sun with a group of girls all clad in matching pink tights and black leotards. It was special and magical, everything they had dreamed it would be. They have been begging us for dance lessons for over a year now, and while we're all for letting them try new things, we decided to wait on this request. We felt like taking ballet at age 3 or 4 wasn't right for our girls. We decided to wait until they were a bit older and able to understand what was being taught. And, truthfully, I wanted them to have to wait. Wait for something that they truly desired and wanted to have.

In my opinion, the way our culture is structured nowadays seems to tend towards instant gratification. Posting pictures a moment after they happen, texting back and forth, receiving something as soon as you ask for it ... these are all things that seem commonplace in today's world (and things I am guilty of myself!). I still think it's important that we value things like patience, gratitude, and respect. And I also believe that some things can only be taught by living them. What better way to learn to wait for something than to be forced to actually wait for it? So, we made them wait. They begged and begged for lessons, which let us know that they truly did want them. And, after what seemed like a lifetime to them, they turned 5, which was our prescribed "dance lesson age."

The joy on their faces when we walked into that studio Saturday morning made my heart feel like it was going to explode (mostly because I was worried their hearts were going to explode!). Their appreciation and wonder at the entire event was being fed by their waiting. Fed by the months they'd been dreaming, pretending, and reading about attending a dance class of their own. That class could have been held in a dark, dank basement with no piano player and no one in the class but the two of them and I think they would have been just as happy. The joy was in the anticipation, in the dreaming of the event that was now, finally, transpiring before their eyes. They got to live their dream, and is there anything in the world that is sweeter than that?

Dream on, sweet girls.