The Rockettes!

Annalise has been waiting for over a year to go see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. She first saw the video of the "Christmas Spectacular" last Thanksgiving and it has become one of her favorite things to watch. She is very interested in dancing and will often put in "The Nutcracker" (Barbie version) and dance to the songs at the end. When she's really working on her performance, she will pause the movie, go upstairs to put her dance clothes on, come back down to un-pause the movie and then dance with pure determination in her eyes. She wants to do the steps just right and she'll often do them over again if she feels like it didn't go well. It's a dream and passion that I've gotten to see my daughter embrace for a while and I was excited to see what her reaction would be when we got there.

John was laughing at me as the show started because I couldn't contain myself. We were sitting down in the front so we could see the orchestra and the organ players. When the singers came out to start the show...well...it's hard to describe. She was bouncing around like kids do, but when she saw them, she froze and her eyes got as big as saucers. She was trying to take it all in when while a smile started from her eyes and made it's way down to her mouth. She took a big breath, got a determined look on her face, and started singing the song word for word with the singers. Yes, I was crying. It was so amazing to me to see her dreaming that big dream of hers. She knew right then that if she worked hard, she could be a Rockette someday too.

I can't remember which dream I had when I was her age (probably a singer or a dancer) but I know that I forgot it somewhere along the way. It was wonderful to see that she believed with every piece of her heart at that moment that she could do anything she wanted to. It was also a moment for me when I realized that she's becoming her own person. It's always been true that I knew what she wanted or needed and could fix anything that went wrong. Now she's feeling emotions in her heart that I can't just take care of and I felt the importance of making sure that I listen to her when she tells me things. I know it will be important to make sure I am giving her the tools she needs to accomplish her dreams. It's hard. I don't want to be a Rockette, and I know her dreams will change through the years, but for now it's her dream and I don't want her to think for a moment that she can't do it.