Dance Class
By
Celeste Palermo, copyright 2002
“Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, bal-change! “Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle!”
As I listen to the scuffled tapping of busy feet in my daughter’s dance class, I sit in the studio lobby doing a little shuffle of my own. I am shuffling papers, recital information, and the pages of a new magazine. This hour on Tuesday mornings has become my favorite time of the week. It’s a time to refocus, set the weekly agenda, sip a steamy latte, and leaf through the pages of a magazine. It’s positively dreamy.
Since leaving a career in medical sales to stay at home with my daughter, I’ve had quite an adjustment to make. Initially, I anticipated long days with time to decorate, keep my house clean, and prepare gourmet meals. Boy, was I wrong!
While I have pending plans for interior design, my home is more of a mess than ever before. My daughter now has all day to spread toys, clothes, and food across every square inch of our home. As far as gourmet meals, we are having frozen lasagna tonight.
Although the change has been significant, it is worthwhile. I have become very good friends with my daughter. Though my house is often unkempt, my life has slowed to a more enjoyable pace. My time now includes afternoons playing dress up and making crafts. And while I am no gourmet, we do eat at the dinner table most nights, instead of wolfing take-out in front of the television.
Our quality of life is better than ever before and that makes the stay at home decision the best one for now. Most parents want to do the best for their children. Today’s world demands we often reevaluate what is best for our families and shuffle our priorities, shuffle our lives. The changes I have made allow me to listen to my daughter shuffle away in dance class, an opportunity I never would have had before.
I put down my magazine and walk over to the studio window. I watch as my little girl puts on her ballet shoes and then attempts a wobbly passé. She starts a pirouette and spots me watching her. She waves, all smiles and tutu: a perfect moment between us—a moment I will treasure when Peyton is grown and I am back to a career without so many value-added perks.
