Misty, Mailee, and Me.

Life in Motion by Misty Copeland.  This is the bedtime read I’m reading to my very own dancer Mailee. 3 chapters in! 

SB: Yes, I still read to my older kids and I encourage all of my students parents to do the same. Why? Reading becomes associated to youngsters as an enjoyable positive experience when it IS a SHARED experience. Just like grabbing a friend and watching a show or watching a movie. You can both laugh, talk, and cry over the drama and plot. It becomes less tedious, arduous, boring, isolating when you do something together. Comprehension improves for kids and bonding time with parents or peers! This is why book clubs and literature circles are so popular! Okay enough of my Teacher hat. 

So this book..... this book just reminded me how beautiful life is. Life gives even when it takes. Isn’t it funny how life works itself out?  I remember when my daughter was much younger I was trying to find her passion or her thing... she was about 4 when I started. Mai cried at every activity I took her to except dance and soccer. I saw her dance at age 4 in a trial class, she looked so happy, so strong, and unbothered (confident)! 

I was actually just amazed she paid attention the whole 30-40 minutes! Except I saw the dance school prices later and couldn’t afford to sign her up. At the time, I lived in North Jersey and dance class was way out of my budget as a single mom. In the interim I signed her up for a cheaper activity: soccer. The first time she got on the soccer field, she did the look around. Usually she would hang in the back, spin around, and dance. I used to sit there thinking like she possibly can’t be dancing on the field. Yep she was! Dancing on the soccer field. I kid you not. So, she then tried recreational cheerleading and now could dance on a field till her hearts desire. So she did. Every time they called her name in the cheer introductions instead of the standard toe touch, she would dance. Her favorite became the Nae, Nae, The dougie, or the dab... she would Dance! I again wondered “Who taught her this?” No cheerleader jump but a little Dance? Every party she’s ever been to she closes the dance floor. Just a fact! ( Still with me? Good 🤗 I’m long winded) 

Finally, I moved here and I discovered that a college mate of mine owns a dance school nearby. It was even affordable! I rushed to sign her up. Mailee finally got her chance to try dance in a formal setting. She chose hip hop. Listen, I may be her mother and very biased but you couldn’t tell me I didn’t see a dancing Beyoncé on that stage at Mailee’s first recital. She had star power, she had confidence, she had strength. I was sitting there jaw dropped in the audience looking like the old man in the movie “Coming to America” clapping {That girl good} type excessive clapping. 

Honestly, up until that moment I had never seen her do something with so much engagement and heart in it like THAT! It just looked different than the “her” that I saw at Cheer or Soccer.  I was expecting her to get out there at recital possibly try to goof around, steal the show by doing the one thing she shouldn’t do or just giggle and be silly. To my surprise I saw a side of my daughter I never saw in my life. I kept thinking about it, kinda baffled. Maybe she practiced a lot, maybe she was more “into it”, maybe it was the song she liked. Whatever “it” was, it was evident to me this girl had a song in her soul and she wanted to dance. I could dig it! After recital she said she wanted to try jazz. Then one day I found her watching contemporary dance videos on YouTube of some guy dancing all over. I asked her why she was watching this guy dance in a Subway. She told me she was impressed with his “cool tricks” which were his intricate  (dance isolations) suddenly she declared she wanted to try Contemporary.  

So tonight as we sat reading this book Mailee and me, we were more than mother and daughter. We were two brown girls that both celebrate and love the art of dance. Mailee begins her second dance year developing her skills by taking up Hip Hop ,Contemporary, and Ballet. I can’t wait to see her grow as a dancer because she’s already been the most amazing dancer I ever had the opportunity to see! Can you imagine what she will be like at 18 if her 8 year old recital blew me away?! Just imagine all the possibilities! Regardless if she sticks to dance all her life or quits this year. I know that in my heart tonight the universe made sure it gave me this moment...just Misty, Mailee, and Me.