It was a long day yesterday… one of those days where every minute of my time was taken up, but it was sooooooo worth it. I went to sleep with a huge smile on my face. Normally, on long days like these, I just crash, but I laid in bed and actually took the day in.
What was so different? Nothing really, except that we had my son’s last show of the year (they do two, this one and Christmas time). If I may, this is where I would like to brag on my son. He’s not a dancing prodigy. He doesn’t try to take the spotlight. If anything, he enjoys blending in with his classmates. What I am proud of is how far he has come. To illustrate that, I’ll do a quick rundown of how past performances have gone.
- His first one. He stood on the stage, and cried his eyes out. He was the only in his class that had the meltdown.
- He stood in the back. No dancing. Just sucked his thumb, and was looking around in the audience… frozen.
- He finally danced with his classmates… not much movement, and he had his thumb in his mouth the whole time, but at least there was movement.
and now this performance: He DANCED. He didn’t just go through the motions, he put feeling into it. He was smiling. He was singing. He looked like he was having fun! I wanted to scream as if he was running down the field to win a game, but I had restraint. I looked at Kinsey as he was dancing and she had tears in her eyes. Look, I know its not that big of a deal. It’s not that it was cute. It’s the realization that he is growing, learning, listening, and trying. The best moment was when we went to pick him up in his classroom after the show. He ran to me and said, “papa! I did it! Are you happy?” Happy would not begin to describe what I was feeling… it was something greater than that. It’s almost validation that Kinsey and I are doing something right!
Best of all, I know that I will have many more moments like this with him and Chloe, and that will keep me going to sleep with smile on my face!
