Something very sweet happened at Lily's Special Needs dance class today. I don't know if words will be able to describe how I felt. (I wish I were a poetic person. . . ) I felt immeasurable amounts of joy and gratitude as I witnessed two events.
- The first was so memorable. At one point in the dance lesson all of the parents and teachers were out on the floor paired with a child dancing joyfully to very light and happy music played on the piano. Some were jumping, others turning and others skipping. At one point as I was dancing with Lily, I looked over at one mother carrying her five year old with spina bifida (who uses a wheelchair) and they were spinning around in circles. This is where it breaks into slow motion for me because I can still see the joy on that child's face and hear the sweet laughter as they lived happily in that moment. Immediately tears came to my eyes.
- The second came at the end of the class. As a tradition, at the end of each class, normally the children are supposed to line up and take turns dancing out the door (to meet their parents in the lobby). In our class the tradition has been modified to having the children dance to their parent (since we have been there the entire time). For whatever reason, this day was so precious. Each child took their turn skipping, galloping, tiptoeing and in our case rolling happily to the loving outstretched arms of a parent. With each child's turn my heart swelled with love and joy. I am crying now, just remembering it.
There are so many beautiful things about these two little experiences. I feel in awe of the joy and happiness felt so deeply in these moments. I felt uplifted and blessed by the gift of happiness that that child shared with me as she spun in circles in her mother's arms. I felt grateful that we could have such sweet moments despite all of the "extras" we have to deal with in our every day lives. I felt amazed by the little model of loving support shown by the parents as we all stepped away from our children and allowed them to dance to us. It was honestly magical and so beautiful. I wish I could better describe it. In those moments today, for the first time I told myself that I was grateful to be a part of this loving community. We parents of children with special needs put forth so much extra support, so much unique care and devotion to these kids. But what we get back in return is equally as big and unique.
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1 comment:
That sounds so lovely. I'm glad you were able to experience it.
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