My daughters started dancing when we lived in New Orleans. They would go to ballet class at the New Orleans Dance Academy, on State Street. Maggie started lessons around the same time that she started preschool. I was very worried to leave her. (There was not room in the class for the parents to watch - so all of the mothers (my wonderful New Orleans girlfriends - Monica, Sandra, Dodie and Emily) would get coffee and sit in the lawn of the Starbucks that was next door.
Before class on the first day, I said, "Maggie. I will be right outside of this door. I will be watching you through this window the entire time. I can come in right away if you need me."
I will never forget this: Little Maggie, dressed in her black leotard and pink sippers looked up at me and stated, "Mom, you can leave me at Little Gate (her nursery school) and you can leave me at ballet." My children surprise me often.
Anyhow, the entire thing was a lot of fun for all of us. When we moved to Louisville, we continued dancing, but it wasn't as much fun...FOR ME. It made me sad to be cooped up in a building in a strip mall, thinking of my friends on the lawn in Uptown New Orleans. (Granted, they were spread out from Houston, to Martha's Vineyard to Durham, NC for those post-Katrina months, but still.)
And we kept on dancing here in Annapolis. Again, I felt the same way. My girls seemed to like it fine, but I wondered if our time (and money) could be better spent (or saved) by passing a lacrosse ball in the front yard, or reading together.
Then it happened. I received my sign. On the first day of class, Maggie's teacher approached her and introduced herself. She then touched my daughter's waist and told her that she had, "A perfect figure for dancing." (By the way, Maggie is nearly invisible standing sideways...I'm certain that she gets that directly from my genes.) That's all it took for me to give up ballet...someone taking the fun out of it. I'm not a huge fan of extracurriculars for little ones as it is - so for us to do it, it has to be really, really awesome.
Enter Jennie Darby. Jennie Darby is the Irish Dancing instructor here in town. I was lucky enough to find out that Jen had a spot open up in her packed school - and I was able to snatch it up for Maggie. Jen had us over to her home to "catch us up" to the rest of the class.
I am an emotional train-wreck, as many of you know, but that day, when I saw my daughter dancing through the sunlight in Jen's living room, dancing to the Irish music, I knew that we were where we were supposed to be.
Incidentally, Jennie Darby is one of my very favorite Annapolitans. She is a true rock star. She is a world-class Irish dancer, so of course she knows lots about beer and bars. She loves boating, and the water, and she is also married to a Navy man. She is one of 6 kids in a family from Cincinatti, Ohio...which isn't too far from Louisville, so we have that in common, too.
Another reason that I admire Jen so much is because of her commitment to laughter, living, and dancing. Jen is mourning the loss of her only sister, Mia. Mia was a young victim of breast cancer. I know that Jen won't mind me printing this, as she is a devout Catholic, and she takes strength in the prayers that strangers offer for her. I too am continuing to navigate my way though grief, as I miss my dear friend Holly Fitzpatrick. Jen is a role model for me. She dances, she laughs, she drinks(!), she remembers, she shares. She and I will be friends for a long time - she is teaching my daughter how to dance. She is reminding me to dance.
Dance, Maggie!
Jennie has the first year dancers introduce themselves to the audience.
