Lynda Loveland: Ballet class observation day; bless her heart

The bless her heart is for the ballet instructor, Lisa. You’ll find out why soon.

My four-year-old has been taking ballet for a couple of months now. Parents aren’t allowed in because they are too much of a distraction to the kids. But we finally got a chance to see the inner workings of a ballet class full of three- and four-year-olds.

I knew it would be entertaining. I didn’t realize how much.

It started off with about a quarter of the girls actually paying attention to the teacher. The rest were looking at the parents looking at them. Lisa, the teacher, had a smile on her face the whole time and did her best to get everyone to follow along. You could see the shyness ooze from some of the tots. One girl looked at her dad as if to say, "I can’t believe you signed me up for this! Is this some cruel alternative to time out?" She later relaxed and started enjoying herself.

My own daughter, after pulling her skirt over her head a few times, locked in on a mom with her newborn. Carys was in the middle of a move with her hands over her head, frozen in place. Eyes glued to the baby. The rest of the class was ten moves ahead, skipping around the room. Carys had no clue. An earthquake couldn’t have shaken her stare.

I tried to call softly to her, "Carys, lower your arms and start skipping. Carys, are you with us?" Finally the baby’s magnetism was broken and Carys dropped her arms, wiped the drool from her lip and started skipping. I know she was probably thinking about dressing up the baby in her American Girl Doll clothes.

Bill always says kids are for our entertainment and I tell you what. I got my money’s worth!