Balancing Ballet

Okay, so I've missed a few Thursdays, but I have a really good excuse: ballet. "Ballet?" you say. "As in, tutus and inhuman displays of grace and flexibility?!" Yes, ballet. (Only, minus the tutus, and severely lacking in grace and flexibility...)

I just finished my third Thursday morning class of adult beginner ballet. It's been a dream of mine for several years, which is funny, because I'm so not a ballerina. Growing up, my sister was the beautiful, skinny, girl-y ballerina. I was the downhill ski-racer. Enough said. My thunder-thighs are excellent for many things; pretty pas-de-bourrees is not one of them. But that's kind of the point.

As mothers, especially mothers juggling careers and/or school and goodness knows what else, it is easy to fall into patterns of what we "know" and what we consider ourselves to be good at. Children suffer the perils of being labeled all the time, but what about their parents? Have we labeled ourselves? Do the labels we bear get passed on to our children? All too often, yes. Everyday we challenge our children to do things they don't know how to do, but how can we, if we don't challenge ourselves?

I find there to be a common belief, among moms especially, that motherhood must be completely "about the kids." Sure, our children are our number one priorities, but how important is it for our children to see us trying new things, learning new skills and developing skills we already have? VERY important, says I. Being a mother doesn't have to mean abandoning our passions for the sake of full-time taxi driving, lunch making, and home-work assisting. I think balance makes for happy families.

... and plies and releves make for sore calves. (Excuse the lack of accents.)

First Day of School

I couldn't decide what was more important: taking a picture of my daughter, ready with new shoes, new hair-cut and a "I'm so grown-up" grin, or actually getting her to her first day of school on time. In the end, I managed both.

Here I am, as never before, with the whole day to myself. I hope she's having fun ...
"Aurora goes to school while Mama works on school." Yes. Can you see how hard I'm working? Blogging = procrastination? Well, yes, perhaps, but less so when your education is in professional communication and you dream of one day being a writer. The cloud-filled sky of the rainy west coast: not the limit.

I have fourteen hours over two days to get a week's worth of school work done. My six-plus-year career as a music teacher/entrepreneur is entering its coda. Goodness knows what lies around the corner -- a pair of dirty pajamas, actually.

I hope she likes her lunch, and I hope she remembers where the bathrooms are.
I miss you Aurora.

Hello Communications 345!

P.S. Dear Google: Please make the formatting of Blogger posts recognize the use of the em dash, thank you.