What I envisioned...

Before I had kids I could envision doing a few things with them, some have been a little anti-climatic (like brushing my daughter's hair which turns into an all out cry-fest. Every. Single. Time.), but some surpassed all expectations. Last night, I had a mother/daughter dream fulfilled. Dave and I took Claire, dressed in her Sunday best, to see the Nutcracker performed by the Moscow Ballet. Claire was so excited to go and then once we got there was shy, expectant and hopeful all at once.

As the lights dimmed she craned her neck to see until she found her spot on my lap where she had a good vantage point of the dancers, the stage and the costumes. She asked so many questions during the ballet that I know it must have distracted some in the audience, but I couldn't resist whispering to her about Clara (or Claire, as I called her), her beloved Nutcracker and the fierce Mouse Queen (in this version). Claire's favorite part, naturally, was the dancing snowflakes in the enchanted forest. After she sat on my lap for awhile she went to Dave's lap and I got to see her in profile--glowing, alert eyes, head expectantly tipped up, and a small perfect mouth slightly open in awe. I was mesmerized by her. So beautiful. So thrilled. So unaware of being watched and happy. On the way home Claire said, "Mom that was a beautiful day." I completely agree--watching you, watching your first ballet was absolutely priceless to me. And today, all she could talk about is when it was her turn.