Addison's First Recital

Last weekend was Addison's dance recital and it was a big weekend. My parents , sister and her boyfriend, my grandparents, aunt and her three kids came into town to watch. Steve's mom and sister also were there to cheer her on. I was a little nervous for this big production because I wasn't sure how well Addison would do going onto stage for the first time. When Addison started dance in August for 8 weeks I had to go into the class and sit and watch just so she would participate. Just as I was going to pull her out she started to go in on her own as long as her teacher would carry her and the within 5 minutes she was fine. She was the baby in the class- everyone else was already 3 and some even 4. I think maybe I should have waited one more year. By the end of the year she would go into the class without any problems but I still wasn't sure how she would do on the big stage. We went to the rehearsal and I knew this would be a good indicator of how the show would go. She did wonderful!! I was a backstage mom and we were responsible for walking the class up to the stage and putting them in their line. The music started and she never looked back. I know right now I have some extra hormones and emotions but it hit me like a ton of bricks- she didn't need me. She had grown up enough in this short time that she was OK on her own. She wasn't afraid and looking for me to comfort her- she was confident and ready to show everyone what she had accomplished. This is a wonderful thing I know but still the realization of her growing up and not being the baby that was 100% dependent on me was a little hard to swallow. On top of all this her ballet dance was to You are my Sunshine. I use to sing this to her all the time when she was a baby and to see her dancing to it brought tears to my eyes. Can't a pregnant girl get a break!!! I am so proud of her and how far she has come since that first dance class. I am sure there will be many more times in the future where I will feel this way again but I just keep reminding myself this is what raising a child is about - Giving them all the love, support , and guidance they need to become wonderful human beings even if slowly you have to let go in the process. This is what my parents did for me.