"Nina"

Hadassah has a new favorite book. 'Nina she calls it. Otherwise titled "I want to be a ballerina."

And no, I didn't push it on her. ;) She voluntarily chooses it and wants me to read it all the time. She "reads" it in her playpen time, and the other day I walked in to find her doing the "side to side" stretch (picture on the left) like they do in the book. I help her do some movements as we read it ("touch your toes!" "here's 1st position!"), and she smiles with joy. It's amazing to see how quickly she catches on and mimics them!

She pointed to the ballet teacher soon after we started reading it over and over, and said "Mama." I don't know if it's because most pictures she sees with a woman around that age has me in it, or because the teacher's name in the book is Anna. Or maybe she just knows, as I've told her, that I used to be a ballerina.

We danced this morning, putting on music and just letting it move us. I did my plies and port de bras and even some piroettes and grande jetes. It's been too long. Though I feel the ache from not being in shape, my body responded with pleasure... like I was made to move that way. It did get trained to do it for 10 years, so I guess it makes sense!

So, who knows. It fills me with joy to see dance in my daughter. I'm not going to push her toward ballet classes - she's free to choose her own interests, that don't have to match her mother's. Plus, I know from experience how hard it is to find quality training in a modest environment. But, right now, it's so much fun to see her getting joy from ballet.