A Red Leaf, a Bad Day, and a Dance Class

     I can remember sitting in the passenger seat of my mom's car one glum afternoon and thinking to myself for the first time, Today was a bad day.  I started to replay the days events over in my head, getting gloomier and gloomier by the minute.  Soon enough we arrived at our destination, my Grandma's house. (Because I can't help but to mention her in every blog. She's that awesome.) As I descend towards the front door, something red catchers my eye in the green of the grass.  It's just a leaf, that happens to be red, but it stops me in my tracks.  It's the first red leaf of the year, and I have to show my Grandma. I pick it up and as I do I drop all of the gloom that has been following me around all day.  As I race towards the front door now, leaf in hand, a fleeting thought crosses my mind... Maybe today isn't so bad after all.  

    I'm a lot older now but this week I had what by 7 a.m. in the morning I had already deemed, "A Bad Day."  I was awoken in the middle of the night by a pesky nosebleed, I couldn't find a parking spot at school, everyone was getting on my nerves.. ya know just one of those days.  By the time I was on my way to the dance studio, I was done.  I had lost my voice.  Teaching a dance class was going to be rough.  Or so I thought.  It's turns out my group of twelve Kindergartner's had other plans.  Instead of me teaching them, they ended up teaching me a thing or to.

   Upon entering the dance room I noticed that about half of the class was already in the room, sitting patiently criss-cross applesauce on the floor. I joined them, unprepared for what the next hour would entail.  Shall we call it a series of mood altering events?  Let's make a list:

 "J" enters the room, presenting me with a bouquet of beautiful wildflowers that she has picked for me from her farm.

  She drew me a picture too.

   "M" cuddles up right next to me and tells me she has a secret, and whispers in my ear "You are my favorite dance teacher ever!"

  "JC" enters the room, tackles me with a bear hug, kisses me on the cheek, tells me she loves me... and I think she may have even asked me to marry her somewhere in between...

At this point I take a deep breath and in my whisper voice explain my situation to them...

  "K" looks at me quizzically, hits her palm against her forehead and shakes her head.  I laugh. 

  I ask them what Disney princess this reminds them of, and they all know the answer. 

We start class.

 I lead them in warm-up.  They follow. 

 I point to the left side of the room, they go line up to go across the floor.

  I do the beginning step of their ballet dance, they rush to their beginning spots.

 The "big kids" class comes over, they show them our dance. They clap for us enthusiastically. 

. The other classes teacher looks impressed and says to me, "They did changements!  They're too little!" 

  I motion over to their dance bags, they quickly put on their tap shoes.

 Etc, etc, etc.

As I left I thought to myself, They were so good today!  But that was a lie, because that's how they are every class.  Each class I am bombarded with smiles, giggles, hugs, and yes sometimes even marriage proposals.  They remind me of a lesson that I learned a long time ago.  There are no bad days.  There may be bad moods or bad moments, but when you least expect it you just might catch a glimpse of that little red leaf that turns your day around.

 -L
I wish you all a happy Fall!  May we all dance in many piles of crunchy leaves!!!  :)  






   

A Letter to Emily

Emily has been pestering me about a new blog post, so I decided to dedicate this one to her.

Ten things I would tell you, ETT if I could go back to 2005, the year we first met:

1.  All those hours spent watching Grease will soon pay off.

2. Enjoy playing cards while you still can, for in the future the sight of a queen of spades will illicit mouth twitching and extreme pain in the muscles of your arms.

3.  Take every opportunity you are given to talk to that lady in office, for her smile will be taken from us entirely too soon.

4.  Always pack detangling spray in your dance bag.  You never know when those thick locks will become unruly from too much hairspray and endless hours in a bun.

5.  Be kind to children; they will flock to you and always return a smile.

6.  Remember that sometimes walking away is a lot harder, and braver, than staying put.  Change is not always bad.

7.  Take a lot of pictures.  Good times can never be repeated, but can always be remembered with a smile.

8.  Really take a good look at that number on the wall at Regata counting down the days until the Equestrian Games.  They will be here and gone before you know it.

9.  Your memory is a powerful thing.  People will notice that you are one of those gems who actually listens when spoken to.  A good friend never has to be told something twice.

10.  Be you.  Be you, and everyone around you will be encouraged to follow suit.  You might just find a friend a little older than you, and a little quieter than you that finds your company the escape she was looking for.  Warning: Silliness will ensue.

Sincerely,
That blonde girl in your dance class