dancin' with my babies

I have always been a dancer. Not as good as the So You Think You Can Dance crew by any means. But I love to dance. I always have.

I remember dancing to my parent's old record player. I would dance with my cousin Amy to Ronnie Milsap's "Smokey Mountain Rain." We would spin around in circles to that song until we fell down.

I remember getting in trouble in fifth grade for not paying attention. (And besides that year, I was an excellent student.......straight A's......so, I'm just saying, I don't think it is entirely my fault.) BUT that year I got into a lot of trouble....for practicing my ballet, instead of paying attention in class. ( Once again, I have to say, if the teacher was a good one, I would not have even thought of ballet, if math had been challenging enough.)

Besides my 5th grade experience.......I have always loved dance. I loved being a ballerina. It was my passion for many years. Until my teacher left (and now that I'm older, I realize that she probably left because she was living an alternative lifestyle.....and my small town in KY just couldn't accept that....or she couldn't live in a small town and be happy). I had trained long enough that I was just ready for toe-shoes (pointe-shoes). I longed for them. I could not wait. And my teacher, Ms. Betsy, left.

But my love for dance didn't leave me. Thank goodness I had a dad who could dance pretty well too. We would always do the 50's and 60's dances in the kitchen while my mom tried to cook (she always got aggravated....then, I didn't understand, NOW I do.....no one should be in my kitchen when I cook). I still brag about winning the "Twist" contest in 8th grade---because my dad taught me the right way to do it. I stayed low next to the floor twisting the entire time. My kids will LOVE hearing that story over and over, I am sure.

I continued to love dancing at parties and dances. I still love to dance when I have a couple few many drinks---and an audience.

Me, in 5th grade, at my ballet recital.

So I love to see my kids exhilaration when they dance to the music. Zander's favorite song to dance to is "Mercy" by Duffy with me. Kaya is obsessed with Taylor Swift now and wants to dance every night to just one song before she goes to bed. Then she listens to the music and I'm pretty sure dances all night until she falls asleep. Zander listens to The Beach Boys and I actually caught him one night, dancing in his room, way after bedtime.

My favorite "lesson times" with my kids is when we laugh and sing and dance with utter joy! But sometimes watching those you love the most, dance, is the best. Like a few nights ago when I stuck my head in the door and watched my dear hubby dancing with his daughter. My heart swelled 10,000 times bigger.

I'm slowly learning that being a good mom doesn't mean having the perfectly clean house (and/or children). Sometimes being a good mom just means taking the time to dance with my babies.