Time to be Thankful

It's November and I have noticed that many of my Facebook friends are posting what they are grateful for.  In the context of this blog, I thought that I would reflect on how grateful I am that my children have discovered ballet and wish to pursue it.

1. I am thankful that ballet inspires discipline.  My children and their friends are some of the most self-disciplined, high achieving students I have ever met.

2.  I am thankful to be surrounded by beauty every day, ballet dancers are physically fit, intelligent, kind (despite media portrayals to the contrary), well-groomed, and as politically incorrect as it might be to observe--they are gorgeous and in the case of the boys, handsome.  The music is gorgeous and the environment of a healthy studio is supportive and friendly.

3. I am thankful that I have learned so much about the art and appreciate all artistic productions on a much deeper level--I no longer see a show as nice,  I see tens of thousands of hours of love and inspiration invested in a production.  It moves me.

4.  I am thankful that a friend suggested that my kids participate in YAGP.... I bet you didn't see that one coming.  Let me explain...  I have no dance background whatsoever.  I grew up in the Midwest and was in my late 20's before I ever saw a live ballet (Nutcracker, of course).  As such, I saw dance lessons largely as a commodity; pretty much the same from studio to studio.  Early on, I came to realize that not all dance studios were created equal; but, it took me six more years to understand the subtleties among training philosophies and how to identify the one that is best for my children (more on this later).  I credit YAGP with helping me find the right fit for us.

5.  Lastly, I am thankful for a loving husband that allows our children to pursue this interest.  As the parents of two boys, both of us envisioned them dancing in the end zone after scoring the winning touchdown.  It was a complete shock to both of us when the boys decided to pursue what we thought at the time was for girls.  For us, it was a massive paradigm shift--but, now we embrace it and are thrilled to watch our children's accomplishments.

There is a lot more that I am thankful for in my "dance mom" life and maybe I will list some more before the end of the month.  But for now, tell me...What are you thankful for?