Pretty In Pink

Those of you that know me well are aware of my obsession with the sport of gymnastics. As a former competitive gymnast, I spent my younger days flipping around the local gymnastics academy, perfecting my skills and having a blast. Even after my competitive days were over, I continued to follow the sport closely, and eagerly awaited my monthly issue of International Gymnast.

So, when Beth was born, I began counting down the days until she would be old enough to begin her own gymnastics classes. Shortly after she began to walk, we headed to the gym, and she's been active in the sport ever since. Of course, when Amy began walking, she joined her sister in the gym, and attended weekly classes for a couple of years. I enjoyed sitting in the waiting room and watching my daughters jumping and flipping, strengthening their bodies and just having a wonderful time.

But last Winter, Amy informed me that she really didn't like gymnastics. She wanted to be a ballerina.

I encouraged her to wait a bit longer before making a decision, but she continued to voice a desire to dance. So this summer, she began a beginner ballet class at a local dance studio. I'm hopelessly unfamiliar with this world of tutus and ballet shoes, but Amy feels completely at home in the studio.

Tonight, her dance school held an open house, and sign-ups for Fall dance classes. So after dinner, the two of us headed out for an evening together. Amy wore an ear-to-ear smile as she showed me her dance room, and she did a few dance moves while holding on to the bar. We signed her up for a tap/ballet combo class. And then came the moment of glory.

She got to chose her tap shoes. Her eyes were wide with amazement as she looked up and down at the rows of shoes, trying to decide which ones to purchase. Finally, she saw them.

Pink, sparkling tap shoes, with pink silk ribbons tied onto the tops of the shoes. She pointed to the shoes and stared up at the saleslady. As the shoes were tied onto her feet, her smile grew wider, and she was literally shaking with excitement. "Are they really mine"? she asked. When I assured her that they truly were her very own tap shoes, she jumped up out of the chair. She shuffled her feet on the hard floor, enjoying the loud noise emanating from the shoes. We somehow convinced her to take the shoes off before walking out to the car, but when we arrived home she immediately put the shoes back on, and did some tap dancing on the kitchen floor, while her sisters watched in amazement.

"This is the happiest day of my life", she informed all of us.

She's now tucked in bed, with the sparkling pink tap shoes on the floor beside her. I'm sure she'll probably spend more time looking at the shoes than she will spend sleeping tonight, but that's okay.

If a beautiful pair of tap shoes can make her this happy, then it seems to be money well spent. I may not appreciate this world of dance, but Amy certainly does.

Even so, I've already signed Erin up for Fall gymnastics. I'm sure she'll love it.