How Much Does It Cost to Fulfill A Dream?

A few weeks ago I wrote about my dreams coming true with A taking her first dance class. She has gone twice now to this fabulous Creative Movement class, and she loved it each time. The Mommy-and-Me ballet class I had wanted (wanted, dreamed about, and yearned for) since A was born won't be happening until the fall, so on the heels of her success in the Creative Movement class, yesterday I took her to the studio's Intro To Ballet, for ages 3-4. I just wanted to check it out to see how she did before I paid to sign her up.

This class is much different than the Creative Movement class. In that class, the kids can wear whatever they want, and go in either socks or barefoot. In the ballet class, the girls have to wear pink leotards, pink tights, and pink ballet shoes. Of course, I wasn't going to spend money on all that gear until I knew the class was right for A, so she wore a darling pink leotard/tutu combo that my mother-in-law had sent her, and was barefoot.

As always, A blew me away. She loved the class, which I expected, but more than that, she tried so hard and was able to do so much! Of course, some things she can't do at all---skip, jump, jump in the air with her legs scissored--but she tried. When the teacher had the girls stand on one leg, A tried to raise one leg--even succeeding for a few seconds at a time. She had no concept of the traditional ballet positions (first position, etc) but first of all, she had never seen them before, and second of all, some of those poses will be hard for my new walker. The best part was seeing some of these other girls, all her age (A just turned 4 this week)....some of the girls were able to do everything, but many others couldn't skip or jump either. That made me feel much better. I'm always assuming that other kids her age can do EVERYTHING, which obviously is not the case.

Today I had had to got to fulfill a dream of mine--to go to Capezio and outfit my daughter for ballet! We didn't have to buy a leotard, thanks to the outfit that my mother-in-law had sent, but I had to buy shoes, tights, etc.

So, how much does it cost for dreams to come true?

Ballet Slippers............$20
Tights..........................$15
Ballet Bag...................$14 (not necessary, but since it's my dream, I couldn't resist!)

With tax, $53.29 for a field trip to Capezio, a daughter in ballet class, and the knowledge that she is well on her way to being the typical kid I want her to be. As my father would say, that's a bargain at double the price!